12 | Focus on MDF Part Two: Rest of the World
INDIA FOCUS ON MDF INVESTMENT CONTINUES
In the second part of our annual survey of the industry worldwide and for the countries outside Europe and North America, independent industry consultant Geoff Rhodes looks at new
developments and summarises the current and future global position for MDF in the ‘rest of the world’. The current dynamics, issues and realities of 2024 and 2025 are also considered
D
espite current global dynamics, investment in new MDF capacity
continues in various regions of the world with new projects being developed in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Iran, and Thailand. Following on from the Focus on MDF Part
1 (Europe and North America), we now focus on the existing MDF mills in the rest of the world as at the end of 2024 and on those under construction in 2025 or planned for 2026 and beyond. After several updates and corrections in data from across the globe, we now show an increase in installed capacity in these regions in 2024 to 92,395,000m3
, while further
investments identified in this region for 2025/26 and beyond, bring the total up to 96,288,000m3
.
So, for 2025/26 and beyond, when this figure is added to the European future capacity of 32,389,000m3
and the North
American future capacity figures (including Mexico) of 7,296,000m3
. for the same period,
we see future global MDF capacity growing now to a revised figure 136,033,000m3
China and the north-east Asia region
continued to be important in the global MDF landscape last year. Driven by strong domestic demand and green sourcing initiatives, Chinese producers had expanded capacity significantly over the years, enough to meet local needs and supply international markets. Notably, the adoption of modern European machinery is elevating product quality too. But, we must also acknowledge a pivot to particleboard and hybrid boards, and less MDF capacity investment in China in the last few years. Average annual economic growth over the past five years has been typically strong in this region, except for Japan, where GDP growth declined, but subsequently has been
recovering more strongly, with GDP forecast to be 1.4% in 2025. In 2024, China reported GDP growth of around 4.6% and has anticipated 4.7% in 2025. Economic projections are still forecasting strong growth into the future from these nations, which ultimately will drive wood-based panels consumption higher.
China is still forecast to produce 85% of the furniture in north Asia by 2025/26 and the relatively strong growth in the region will influence not only the aggregate consumption of all wood panels, but also the proportion of use by each sector. However, according to statistics from the Chinese Academy of Industry Development and Planning under the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the China Forestry Products Industry Association (CFPIA), both the number of enterprises and production capacity of China’s fibreboard industry declined in 2024.
Of the annual production of furniture in China, approximately 32% is exported to a wide range of countries, with the largest volumes still destined for the US, Japan, and Europe, while the domestic market continues to grow year-on-year. The drive by the authorities to move industries to inner cities also led to an exodus of some Taiwanese furniture factories from China, relocating to Vietnam. China’s MDF production capacity has
grown rapidly in the last decade and opinions about the volume of installed capacity vary greatly. Different sources estimate MDF capacity in China being anywhere between 46 million m3
to 69 million m3 , the former
being linked to closures of old plants. Our estimates of circa 58 million m3
for
MDF in China are based on known capacity for listed plants, plus estimates and new investment news, with the caveat that there are undoubtedly additional small plants with
WBPI | August/September 2025 |
www.wbpionline.com
unknown capacity, some which will have closed. But the overall capacity is clearly still very substantial. Whereas consumption has previously increased so strongly, forecasts are for consumption to increase at an average annual rate of just 1% in the region over the two years out to 2026/27, as China shifts to a focus on more domestic growth in consumption, possibly at the expense of some exports, such as furniture. Also, real commercial activity in the Chinese MDF industry has continued to slow as the government tries to rein in the country’s dramatic economic growth of recent years. Looking ahead though, the use of rice
straw for MDF production is an evolution that is starting to be noticed around the world. The MDF investment decision by Wanhua Ecoboard Co Ltd based on this raw material source, in partnership with Dieffenbacher was installed in Yiyang, Jiangxi Province. The line, designed with an annual capacity of 210,000m³ using a CPS+ and in dimensions of 9ft x 32.4m, is now in production and is running completely on rice straw. As highlighted last year, one other new future MDF investment in China that is on the cards is with Huashi Chaoyang Tech with 97,000m3
planned, so this is in the future
capacity table. Our total listing for Chinese installed capacity at the end of 2024 is now 58,258,000m3
production output.
Chinese based press manufacturer Yalian Machinery Co Ltd has increasingly gained a foothold in various regions. The company was primarily active in the Chinese domestic market for a long time. New orders for lines
continued on page 15
. Note, this is not the same as
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