A growing number of Indian and Vietnamese traders are buying American hardwoods — and West Virginia’s mills are now among the direct beneficiaries, securing export contracts with buyers from both countries following a three-day inbound trade mission that brought purchasers to Cherry River Lumber in Richwood, Meadow River Hardwood Lumber in Rainelle, and Laurel Creek Hardwoods in Richwood late last month.
That is according to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, which organised the mission in partnership with the Southern United States Trade Association. “SUSTA inbound missions like this create meaningful opportunities for our natural resource industries,” according to Kent Leonhardt, West Virginia’s Agriculture Commissioner and current president of SUSTA. “By bringing international buyers directly to our operations, we are helping West Virginia businesses expand their reach and compete in global markets.”
It comes as American Hardwood Export Council data shows US hardwood exports to India hit a record high in 2025 — with the total value of lumber, logs, and veneers reaching more than US$12.28 million, up from US$8.87 million the year prior — with lumber volumes alone surging 46 percent to just under 16,000 cubic metres and red oak and white oak accounting for more than half of all shipments by value.
Wood Central understands the growing demand from both markets reflects a broader shift toward American species — including West Virginia’s black cherry, red and white oak, hard maple, black walnut, and hickory — as furniture and interior manufacturers in India and Vietnam seek high-yielding, legally verified alternatives to tropical species. AHEC recently launched American Hardwood Assured — an AI-powered platform that uses satellite imagery to verify the legal, deforestation-free origin of US hardwood consignments down to the county level — giving buyers in both markets a compliance tool to support their purchasing decisions directly at the point of import.
Visiting buyers toured log yards and sawmill facilities at each of the three sites, observing forestry practices and reviewing hardwood supply before sitting down with mill operators to discuss product specifications, export requirements, and potential sales terms. One-on-one meetings with additional companies were held ahead of the mill tours, with the mission structured to give buyers direct access to producers before seeing the operations firsthand.
“This mission gave our companies the chance to build strong, direct relationships with international buyers and showcase the quality of West Virginia hardwoods firsthand,” according to Ashley Amos, WVDA Business Development Planning Coordinator and SUSTA liaison who led the mission’s planning. “The connections made during these visits will continue to create opportunities for our producers well into the future.”
SUSTA is a nonprofit that promotes food and agricultural exports — including timber and natural resource-based products — from across the southern states through inbound trade missions, market development support, and export assistance programs.
- To learn more about the global trajectory of American hardwoods and the markets driving demand, click here for Wood Central’s special feature Inside the Global Rise and Rise of American Hardwoods. For the state’s hardwood mills, the contracts secured last month are the first return on a supply chain that begins in the Appalachian forest and now runs directly to buyers in Mumbai and Hanoi.
