The best times to buy African wood during the year

Wood traders with long experience know that African wood prices are characterized by instability. At times of the year, wood prices always fluctuate up or down. We must understand these important times to buy African wood at the lowest price.

3 best times to buy African wood during the year, when prices are lowest

In this article, I will analyze the 3 best durations to buy African wood, based on 2 main factors: market trends and local weather. 

The first quarter of the year is when wood prices go to the lowest

The first quarter is the best time to buy wood, as the market cools off after the end-of-year demand spike. With prices potentially lower, it’s an opportune moment for wood traders to purchase stock, adhering to the strategy of buying during the market’s rest period and selling when demand picks up. At this time, wood prices can be 10-15% cheaper than normal wood prices. Especially right now, at the end of January, when the world has just experienced the New Year holiday and in Asian countries, they are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year, the fatigue of returning to the daily work routine or the excitement of shopping for the upcoming big event are all price-influencing factors that we need to exploit. 

The third quarter of the year, the time before wood prices increase

As above, I mentioned the end of the year – when the demand for wood skyrockets because there is a huge need for people to use the end-use of timber, this is probably not the time when wood prices are good. But one thing you should pay attention to is that if your supplier always has an abundant source of wood, even if market demand increases, the purchase price from them will still be quite stable, even if the increase is not significant. Come to K-Timber, the number 1 African wood supplier, with an abundant supply of Angolan wood, the advantage lies not only in uniform wood quality, dark color, and beautiful wood grain but also instability. price stability throughout the year. Please contact us now to receive support.

Rainy/Dry season in the country where you buy the wood

This is an issue that we – timber traders are concerned about. Buying wood in the rainy or dry season doesn’t have much of an impact on the price of wood. The only problem is that in the rainy season, the terrain makes it difficult to move into the forest to drag the wood to the factory, so the labor costs are high. On the other hand, the amount of wood stored is not as abundant as in the dry season because it still has to be cut for old customers

I do not deny that in the rainy season, the moisture content of wood will be higher than in the dry season, leading to problems such as termites,… but that is a problem for young, inexperienced wood suppliers or due to poor quality wood on the market. Below is weather information for the three African countries with the largest wood export volume:

• Angola: Tropical and subtropical climate (North – humid tropics, South – desert tropics). There are two distinct seasons: the rainy season starts in October and the dry season starts in April every year. The highest average temperature is about 24-26°C and the lowest is about 14-16°C.
• Cameroon: The rainy season usually lasts from March to October. The dry season usually starts in November and lasts until February of the following year.
• Mozambique: The rainy season mainly takes place from November to April. The dry season usually lasts from May to October.

A few important notes when buying African wood

After determining the most appropriate time to buy wood, next, I will write about supporting factors to help you make future purchasing decisions.

The right storage

It’s great when you import goods and can sell them out in 1-2 days, but that beautiful dream rarely happens. Wood traders always have to balance the amount of imported wood and the time it takes to resell that wood, and during that time we have to consider how to preserve it. When coming to K-Timber, we help advise customers on these issues, we will calculate the amount of wood you should import as well as the best way to preserve it. Come to us to not only source the best Angolan wood but also have lifetime product support.

Please consider a project timeline

As I said above, if your market is different or you sign a good contract, you can make huge profits from wood. This leads to the fact that your project timeline management will greatly affect your decision to buy wood. Aligning your wood purchases with the project schedule can minimize the space and time it takes to store wood. Of course, you can store wood for a long time, but it is always better to have a clear plan before purchasing, less cost – more revenue, right?

Knowing the appropriate moment to buy wood is extremely important, please consider additional factors: type of wood, harvest time, wood requirements, economy, etc. to come to your own conclusions for the best time to buy timber. Besides, understanding your purpose of purchase, knowing the market or comprehending the project you are implementing, combined together will help you buy wood at the best price, plus avoiding risks such as more resources to preserve, cheap wood but not the best, not the best wood quality,… Finally and most importantly, find yourself a companion on your wood business path: a thoughtful, knowledgeable and experienced companion, will help you a lot.

Contact K-Timber, the world’s leading African wood exporter, with 28 years of experience accompanying more than 1,000 partners in over 70 countries, we are confident in providing you with quality wood sources, the best and lifetime service you won’t find anywhere else.