Half of 2026 is over. In the past six months, a lot of things have happened in the industry: the new national standard has been implemented, exports have increased, Linyi Wood Industry has been on CCTV, and Baby Rabbit has won an international gold award. Some changes are visible, and some changes are silent. I have sorted out three things worth paying attention to in the past six months and shared them with you.
I. New national standard landing: E0 level is no longer a "plus point", but an "admission ticket". On June 1, 2026, the mandatory national standard of GB 18580-2025 "Formaldehyde Release Limit in Interior Decoration Materials Artificial Boards and Their Products" was officially implemented. The new version of the national standard has greatly raised the formaldehyde release limit from 0.124mg/m³ of E1 level to ≤0.050mg/m³ of E0 level, and the E0 level was included in the mandatory standard for the first time. Simply put: E1 grade plate has officially withdrawn from the domestic market since June 1, 2026.
This is not a "suggestion", but a "compulsion". In the past, E0 level was the selling point, but now E0 level is the bottom line. Those factories that are still producing with E1 or even lower standards no longer have legal status. At the same time, eight artificial board forestry industry standards have also been issued in June and will be implemented from September 1. Baby Rabbit and other enterprises participated in the drafting of the new national standard. Europe's new EU sheet environmental protection standard will also be officially implemented on August 1. The threshold of environmental protection is being raised rapidly. This is not a temporary adjustment, but a structural reshaping.
II. Exports continue to release volume: chipboard exports doubled. Linyi appeared on CCTV from January to April 2026. Plywood exports increased by 17.40% year-on-year, fiberboard exports increased by 9.80% year-on-year, and chipboard exports increased by 111.10% year-on-year. The import of all kinds of plates declined synchronously. In the whole year of 2025, China's exports of wood products will reach 39.19 billion US dollars, imports will reach 16.56 billion US dollars, and the trade surplus will exceed 22.6 billion US dollars.
This is not a "suggestion", but a "compulsion". In the past, E0 level was the selling point, but now E0 level is the bottom line. Those factories that are still producing with E1 or even lower standards no longer have legal status. At the same time, eight artificial board forestry industry standards have also been issued in June and will be implemented from September 1. Baby Rabbit and other enterprises participated in the drafting of the new national standard. Europe's new EU sheet environmental protection standard will also be officially implemented on August 1. The threshold of environmental protection is being raised rapidly. This is not a temporary adjustment, but a structural reshaping.
Two. Exports continue to release volume: chipboard exports doubled. Linyi appeared on CCTV from January to April 2026. Plywood exports increased by 17.40% year-on-year, fiberboard exports increased by 9.80% year-on-year, and chipboard exports increased by 111.10% year-on-year. The import of all kinds of plates declined synchronously. In the whole year of 2025, China's exports of wood products will reach 39.19 billion US dollars, imports will reach 16.56 billion US dollars, and the trade surplus will exceed 22.6 billion US dollars.
The data of Linyi is more direct. CCTV News reported on May 11: Linyi's annual production capacity of artificial board is 60 million cubic meters, accounting for 20% of the country. The board is exported to more than 180 countries and regions, and the export volume ranks first in the country. Linyi Wood Industry has been included in the list of national characteristic industrial clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. In the first quarter of 2026, there were 1,523 enterprises in the Linyi high-end plate and green smart home industry chain, with an output value of 13.58 billion yuan and an output of 5.569 million cubic meters of artificial panels. In the whole year of 2025, there will be 1,591 wood enterprises in Linyi, with an output value of 143.85 billion yuan. Linyi is not only the "plate capital", but also the "plate export capital".
