Mezinárodní obchod s cedrem

The thesis deals with the international trade in western red cedar and is focused on the Czech Republic. The aim of the thesis is to identify trade and logistical difficulties that arise when importing red cedar to the Czech Republic, calculate the domestic market size of cedar and determine the current situation of the cedar trade in the Czech Republic. To meet the objective a semi-structured in-depth interview with the biggest Czech importer of cedar is used with data from UN Comtrade. The secondary aim is to examine the international trade in cedar. Graphs and publicly available information are used to compare the biggest world importers of cedar. The thesis also looks for an answer to the following research question: Is trade in cedar Sustainable? The first chapter is an introduction that includes the trade policy of British Columbia and the Canada-U.S. Softwood lumber dispute. The second chapter characterizes cedar, investigates the sustainability of cedar, compares cedar-importing countries and concludes with international organizations for cedar. The third chapter is the result of an interview with the biggest importer of cedar in the Czech Republic. It provides information regarding the trade in cedar in the Czech Republic. British Columbia is an excellent business partner, with whom minimum problems arise. The main issue is to find sufficiently high-quality cedar for the European market, further on to find a reliable business partner and secure a sufficient amount of cedar. The year 2011 is a turning point in the entire thesis and since then trade in cedar appears to be stabilized.