Para's exports fall

Brazil’s biggest timber-producing state, Para, saw a 19.4% reverse in timber exports last year, according to the latest market report from the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO).

The Association of Timber Industries Exporters of Pará State said conditions this year depended on how the new US administration supports key economic sectors.

Meanwhile, 7,000 jobs in the Brazilian forest product sector were lost in 2008, according to a study by the Department of Statistics and Socio-economic Studies.

The North American financial and real estate crisis is a direct cause, with consumers of Brazilian forest products impacted by lack of credit and difficult markets.