Comparative Advantage and Potentials for World Trade in Wood Products

Comparative advantage is the driving force in world trade arising usually, but not always, from manufacturing economies of scale conditioned by tariffs, quotas, and transportation costs. Europe and North America together account for 75 percent of the total value of world wood exports. Europe is the most important market for wood, followed by the United States and Japan. In the future, Europe’s needs will be met by imports from Scandinavia supplemented by North America and the U.S.S.R. The United States will continue to depend on Canada and Southeast Asia; Japan will import from Canada, the U.S.S.R., United States, and Southeast Asia. Canada emerges as the most important potential source of softwood exports, with the U.S.S.R. a more distant competitor. Southeast Asia will hold the comparative advantage in hardwood exports.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member