Wood exports from the Ñuble region totaled US$35.3 million during September 2026, recording an increase of 51.7% compared to the US$23.3 million in September 2025, according to a report by Odepa, with data from Customs.
Thus, according to the Odepa bulletin, in the first nine months of this year the accumulated value of wood shipments from Ñuble amounted to US$252.8 million, representing an increase of 3.5% compared to January-September 2026, reflecting a gradual recovery in shipments from this sector, whose products have also been affected by the higher tariffs imposed by the United States, which is the main destination for wood exported by the region, as well as sluggish demand.
In the analysis of accumulated values so far this year, the main wood products exported by Ñuble between January and September 2026 were: radiata pine sawn wood, with US$77.1 million and a rise of 23% compared to the same period in 2025; plywood with both outer sheets of coniferous wood, with US$73.5 million and an increase of 7%; medium-density fiberboard, with US$53.6 million and a decline of 11%; glued laminated boards of radiata pine, at US$23.3 million and a decrease of 15%; and other coniferous profiles and moldings, at US$8.9 million and a decrease of 19%.
Outlook for SMEs
However, for the region's wood SMEs, most of which sell their production in Chile, the outlook has not yet improved; in fact, they warn that the domestic market remains depressed and has not yet recovered pre-pandemic levels, which is associated with weak performance in the construction sector.
Lorena Vargas Reyes, general manager of Guivar Transforma, of Trehuaco, and vice president of the Pymemad Biobío-Ñuble trade association, acknowledged that "the domestic market had a small uptick in August compared to the previous year, but, in general, after the pandemic we have not had very good years, we still have not reached the levels of a normal year, as it was before the pandemic."
She also commented that the rains have hampered spring harvests. "What I have been able to see recently is that we have serious supply problems, because the weather has been very complex, the forests to the south are waterlogged. And that has strongly affected sawmill production from Ñuble southward in September and October; there are many sawmills stopped or operating at half shift."
"In a normal spring this is a good time, but today we are facing rain that is not normal for October," she concluded.
Pulp
Pulp is also failing to take off, facing a very challenging international scenario for more than a year.
Between January and September 2026, pulp exports from Ñuble totaled barely US$4.9 million, far below the US$30.0 million of the same period in 2025; and much further from the US$280.4 million of January-September 2024.
Source:La Discusión
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