The global trade in wood and paper products has dropped steeply from record levels in 2021 and 2022, with the paper trade in freefall amid pressure from digital media. That is according to new data released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which late last month published Global Forest Products Facts and Figures for 2023.
According to the report, the worldwide trade in wood and paper products saw a significant drop of 12% – with exports decreasing by as much as US $64 billion to US $482 billion for 2023:
“This level was still above the highest international trade value before 2021. However, the fact that trade value declined faster than traded quantities for most of the products indicates a drop in forest product prices in 2023 amid a general slowdown in economic growth,” the FAO said in a statement supporting the report, adding that global production of paper and paperboard contracted by 3%, owing to a continuous replacement of printed media with digital products:
“What we have seen happening is a combination of factors, with production and trade declining due to global supply chain disruption, slowing consumer demand and trade restrictions, together with a longer-term decline, for example, in global paper production and trade along with the progress of digitalisation,” said Zhimin Wu, the FAO’s director of its Forestry Division.
Most categories show a decline.
According to the report, global production and trade in most major wood-based products declined in 2023, with only wood-based panels recording an output growth.
- Industrial Roundwood (used for any purpose other than energy, including pulpwood, sawlogs and veneer logs, and wood used for fence posts and telephone or electricity poles) saw global industrial roundwood removals decline by 4% to 1.92 billion cubic metres. At the same time, the total trade decreased by 13% to just 100 million cubic metres (its lowest level since 2009).
- Sawnwood production decreased in all five regions for 2023 (including planks, sleepers or cross-ties, beams, joists, boards, rafters, and lumber). According to the report, global sawnwood production contracted 4% to 445 million cubic metres (the lowest since 2014), with the decline in international trade twice as big—8%—to 129 million cubic metres (the weakest since 2014).
- Wood-based panels and plywood, including blockboard and laminated veneer lumber, particleboard, oriented strand board (OSB), and fibreboard, grew by just 1% to 381 million cubic metres (owing to increased production in the Asia-Pacific offsetting a sharp decrease in other regions). However, international trade followed a downward trend similar to different products, falling 7% to 84 million cubic metres (its lowest since 2016).
- Wood pulp – Global production of wood pulp also declined by 2% to reach 193 million tonnes. By contrast, trade in wood pulp increased by 3% to reach a record level of 71 million tonnes.
- Paper and paperboard production declined in Europe and Northern America, stagnating in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and it grew in the Asia-Pacific region. World paper production dropped by 3% to 401 million tonnes (trade by 7% to 104 million tonnes, the lowest since 2010). Global production of graphic papers declined by 9%, while other paper and paperboard recorded a smaller decrease of 3% in 2023. Production of graphic paper in 2023 (84 million tonnes) was at the lowest level since 1987.
- Wood pellet – Production has increased dramatically in the last decades, owing to demand generated by countries’ bioenergy targets. However, growth paused for the first time in 2023, recording a drop in production by 2% and trade by 5%. In 2023, global production reached 47 million tonnes.
- And finally Engineered wood products—The FAO’s first ever published data on engineered wood products show that in 2023, the global production of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) amounted to 4 million m³ (exports—1 million m³), glue-laminated timber (glulam)—7 million m³ (exports—2 million m³), cross-laminated timber (CLT or X-lam)—1 million m³ (exports—0.6 million m³), and I-beams (I-joists)—1 million tonnes (exports—0.3 million tonnes).
Despite the dip, timber demand is expected to jump amid the global scramble for wood.
In July, Wood Central reported that the post-pandemic “new normal” has fuelled a new spike in wood production. The latest estimates show that roundwood demand could grow by 49% between 2020 and 2050, fueled by the development of mass timber, biomass, and cellulosic products.
That is according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which published The State of the World’s Forests 2024: Forest-sector Innovations Towards a More Sustainable Future – which also showed evidence that climate change is making forests more vulnerable to stressors such as wildfires and pests.
“According to the projections, world roundwood production will increase by 4–8% between 2022 and 2030,” the report said. “Production could increase by 6–32% between 2022 and 2050 (with uncertainty increasing markedly over the longer period),” and in terms of Roundwood volume, “the projected increase to 2050 ranges between 240 million cubic metres and 1 200 million cubic metres, depending on the scenario.”
- For more information, click here to download the FAO’s Global Forest Products Facts and Figures for 2023.
