One of the world’s largest timber importers must boost logging inside its forests to achieve self-sufficiency, especially in solid wood and plywood production, to meet between 30 and 35 million cubic metres of timber demand every year. That is according to Korea Forest Service (KFS) former minister Park Chong-ho, who said the country’s vast artificial (or plantation) forests could unlock a new green economy.
“Those in the country’s timber industry have long been arguing why the government isn’t more actively harnessing the country’s forests to supply domestic markets in need of timber. We must consume timber responsibly, self-supplying and importing what we cannot. We must expand domestic timber production in that matter.”
Park Chong-ho, Korea Forest Service Minister from 2019 until 2021.
Wood Central understands that Korea began importing timber in 1965. The volume of imports rapidly increased, reaching the first $1 billion annual import mark in 1979; in the same year, exports totalled $590 million. Wood Central understands that imports first exceeded $2 billion in 1993 before surpassing $3 billion in 2014, $4 billion in 2016, and $5 billion in 2017.
Last year, the country imported $5 billion worth of timber and exported just $180 million. As of January, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China were the leading exporters of timber to Korea. “The biggest volume of raw material that has been imported is petroleum. The second is timber,” Mr Chong-ho said during an interview with The Korea Times earlier this month.
“In 2019, the country’s timber self-sufficiency rate was only 16%, meaning it imported 84% of the timber it used that year. Given the extensive use of timber in products such as paper, toilet paper, furniture, construction materials and even billiard balls, timber is an indispensable resource for Korea and many other countries.”
According to the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Korea is fourth behind China, Japan, and the United States in terms of importers of tropical timber. “Those in the country’s timber industry have long been arguing why the government isn’t more actively harnessing the country’s forests to supply domestic markets in need of timber,” Mr Chong-ho said.
The KFS has designated 50% of the country’s forests as artificially managed, where trees can be cut down and replanted. Unless the forests are bulldozed for agriculture or left barren, the risk of landslides in these areas is close to zero.
“Out of 2,100 harvested areas that are five hectares or larger, less than 30 have unstable terrain with some risks,” Mr Chong-ho said. “Unlike natural forests, artificial forests produce five times more timber.” For example, “with its 300,000-hectare artificial Monterey pine forests, New Zealand exports the world’s biggest pine volume.”
- To learn more about Korea’s Green Miracle and lessons for Ukraine, visit Wood Central’s special feature.
