At the end of the second quarter, too, the German timber import trade’s activity was generally very restrained on the Southeast Asian purchasing markets for bangkirai and meranti products. A variety of well-known importers and timber agencies report that current orders are frequently limited to minor top-up purchases. This is said to be attributable to a number of causes. One of the reasons is that the entire industry is being negatively influenced by the unfavourable rate of exchange between the euro and the US dollar.