The European Commission has imposed provisional anti‑dumping duties of 5.4 per cent on Brazilian softwood plywood imports, a measure regulators say will halt a surge of cheaper shipments that have eroded European producers’ market positions and squeezed industry margins. Adopted in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2219 on Monday, the duties have been collected since Wednesday pending a full investigation and final determination. In its preliminary findings, the Commission stated that imports from Brazil, which it deemed to be dumped, rose sharply even as overall Union demand softened.
“Dumped imports of Brazilian softwood plywood increased by about 30% between 2021 and the investigation period,” the regulation states, a jump that came as European consumption contracted and domestic producers came under mounting pressure. Commission documents show that annual imports from Brazil during the period under review totalled several hundred thousand cubic metres; total Union production during the investigation amounted to 675,726 cubic metres. It comes as Production and sales volumes each declined by 24 per cent, and profitability dropped from approximately 15 per cent in 2021 to around 2 per cent during the period under review, the Commission stated.
At the centre of the inquiry was a wide price gap
The Commission reported an average price for the Brazilian imports it identified as dumped of €302 per cubic metre. At the same time, Union producers sold at an average of €508 per cubic metre, resulting in a weighted average undercutting margin of 31.8 per cent. Regulators noted that production costs increased by approximately 33 per cent over the same period, leaving many domestic mills unable to cover higher input and operating expenses.
Wood Central understands that the provisional margins of 5.4 per cent were applied to Indústria de Compensados Sudati Ltda, Conply Indústria de Compensados Ltda and Indústria de Compensados Guararapes Ltda; exports by Nereu Rodrigues & Cia Ltda were found not to be dumped. The same provisional rate has been set for other cooperating and non‑cooperating exporters from Brazil for enforcement purposes.
Industry associations representing European manufacturers welcomed the decision as necessary to stabilise prices and protect capacity. At the same time, importers and downstream buyers warned that duties could raise costs for furniture makers, construction firms and other sectors that rely on plywood. Traders and procurement teams are expected to reassess their sourcing strategies as customs authorities begin collecting provisional duties, and companies weigh the prospect of higher import prices or the need to identify alternative suppliers.
The investigation now moves to its next phase, during which interested parties may submit further evidence and observations before the Commission reaches a final decision. If provisional duties are confirmed as definitive, the change would reconfigure trade flows into the European Union and could have ripple effects through global plywood markets and supply chains.
