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Forest product statistics

Forest product data

The function of collecting, analysing, interpreting, and disseminating data and information relating to agriculture (including forest products) is embedded in Article 1 of FAO’s Constitution and has been performed since the establishment of the organization.

FAO's statistical work programme for forest products was initiated as the result of recommendations of the 1945 and 1946 Sessions of the FAO Conference. The programme was reviewed in detail and received formal approval from the Third Session of the FAO Conference at Geneva in 1947. Since then, FAO has been compiling and reporting statistics on production, trade and consumption of forest products every year.

FAOSTAT-Forestry online database provides annual production and trade statistics for forest products, primarily wood products such as roundwood, sawnwood, wood panels, pulp and paper. For many forest products, historical data is available from 1961.

These statistics are provided by countries through an annual survey conducted by FAO's Forestry Division in partnership with the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). This partnership is formalized through the Intersecretariat Working Group on Forest Sector Statistics which has been meeting since 1994 to facilitate cooperative data collection and management and to minimize the reporting burden to countries.

In cases where countries have not provided information through the questionnaire, FAO estimates annual production and trade based on trade journal reports, statistical yearbooks or other sources. Where such estimates are not possible, FAO repeats historical figures until new information is found.

Forestry production and trade by syafii5758 / Freepik
FAOSTAT - Forestry production and trade

The database contains data on the production and trade in roundwood and in primary wood and paper products for all countries and territories in the world.

FAOSTAT
FAOSTAT

It provides free access to food and agriculture statistics (including crop, livestock, and forestry sub-sectors) for over 245 countries and territories and covers all FAO regional groupings from 1961 to the most recent year available.

Facts and figures

Major consumers of forest products

Percentage of global consumption (2023)

  • Wood fuel: India (15%); China (8%); Brazil (7%); Ethiopia (6%); Democratic Republic of Congo (5%); Nigeria (3%); United States of America (3%).
  • Industrial roundwood: United States of America (18%); China (11%); Brazil (9%); Russian Federation (9%); Canada (7%); Indonesia (4%); Sweden (4%); Finland (3%); India (3%).
  • Wood charcoal: Brazil (12%); Ethiopia (9%); Nigeria (9%); China (5%); Democratic Republic of Congo (5%); India (5%).
  • Wood pellets, briquettes and other agglomerates: United Kingdom (14%); Japan (13%); Republic of Korea (10%); Germany (9%); ; France (6%); Denmark (6%); Italy (5%); Netherlands (5%); Sweden (4%);Austria (3%); Poland (3%).
  • Sawnwood: United States of America (22%); China (19%); India (6%); Russian federation (4%); Germany (4%); Canada (3%); Japan (3%).
  • Wood-based panels: China (41%); United States of America (12%); India (4%); Russian Federation (4%); Türkiye (3%); Germany (3%); Poland (3%).
  • Pulp for paper: China (30%); United States of America (24%); Japan (4%); India (4%); Sweden (4%); Russian Federation (4%); Brazil (3%); Canada (3%); Finland (3%).
  • Recovered paper: China (31%); United States of America (12%); Germany (7%); Japan (6%); India (5%); Republic of Korea (3%); Mexico (3%); Thailand (3%); Indonesia (3%).
  • Paper and paperboard: China (34%); United States of America (15%); Japan (5%); India (4%); Germany (4%).

Major producers of forest products

Percentage of global production (2023) 

  • Wood fuel: India (15%); China (8%); Brazil (7%); Ethiopia (6%); Democratic Republic of Congo (5%); Nigeria (3%); United States of America (3%).
  • Industrial roundwood: United States of America (18%); Brazil (10%); Russian Federation (9%); China (9%); Canada (7%); Indonesia (4%); Sweden (3%); India (3%); Finland (3%); Germany (3%).
  • Wood charcoal: Brazil (12%); Ethiopia (9%); Nigeria (8%); Democratic Republic of Congo (5%); India (5%).
  • Wood pellets, briquettes and other agglomerates: United States of America (20%); Viet Nam (9%); Germany (9%); Canada (7%); France (5%);  Latvia (4%); Austria (3%); Sweden (3%);Russian Federation (3%); Poland (3%); Estonia (3%).
  • Sawnwood: United States of America (18%); China (13%); Russian Federation (8%); Canada (8%); India (5%); Germany (5%); Sweden (4%).
  • Wood-based panels: China (43%); United States of America (8%); Russian Federation (4%); India (4%); Türkiye (3%); Brazil (3%); Canada (3%); Germany (3%); Poland (3%), Thailand (3%).
  • Pulp for paper: United States of America (24%); China (15%); Brazil (12%); Canada (6%); Sweden (6%); Finland (5%); Indonesia (5%); Russian Federation (4%); Japan (4%); India (3%); Chile (3%).
  • Recovered paper: China (31%); United States of America (18%); Japan (7%); Germany (6%); Republic of Korea (3%); France (3%); United Kingdom (3%).

Major exporters of forest products

Percentage of global exports (2023)

  • Value of wood and paper products: China (15%); Germany (9%); United States of America (7%); Canada (6%); Poland (5%); Italy (4%); Sweden (4%); Viet Nam (3%); Brazil (3%); Indonesia (3%); Finland (3%); France (3%).
  • Wood fuel: Eswatini (13%); Latvia (11%); South Africa (9%); France (8%); Croatia (8%); Bosnia and Herzegovina (7%); Estonia (6%); Ukraine (4%); Lithuania (4%).
  • Industrial roundwood: New Zealand (22%); Germany (9%); United States of America (7%); Czechia (5%); Norway (4%); France (4%); Spain (4%); Canada (4%); Latvia (3%); Poland (3%); Papua New Guinea (3%).
  • Wood charcoal: Indonesia (18%); Myanmar (12%); India (6%); Namibia (5%); Viet Nam (5%); Lao PDR (4%); Paraguay (4%); Philippines (4%); Ukraine (4%); Cuba (4%); Nigeria (3%); Poland (3%); Egypt (3%); Mexico (3%).
  • Wood pellets, briquettes and other agglomerates: United States of America (29%); Viet Nam (14%); Canada (10%); Latvia (5%); Estonia (4%); Germany (3%); Russian Federation (3%); Malaysia (3%); Belgium (3%).
  • Sawnwood: Canada (18%); Russian Federation (15%); Sweden (11%); Germany (8%); Finland (6%); United States of America (4%); Austria (4%); Thailand (4%).
  • Veneer sheets: Viet Nam (18%); Russian Federation (11%); Canada (9%); China (7%); Gabon (7%); United States of America (4%); Indonesia (4%).
  • Wood-based panels: China (17%); Canada (9%); Thailand (8%); Germany (6%); Indonesia (4%); Brazil (4%); Russian Federation (4%); Türkiye (4%);  Poland (3%); Belgium (3%); France (3%); Austria (3%).
  • Pulp for paper: Brazil (28%); Canada (11%); United States of America (10%); Indonesia (8%); Finland (7%); Chile (6%); Sweden (6%); Uruguay (5%); Russian Federation (3%).
  • Recovered paper: United States of America (30%); United Kingdom (9%); France (6%); Netherlands (5%); Japan (5%); Italy (5%); Germany (4%); Canada (3%); Belgium (3%); Poland (3%); Australia (3%).
  • Paper and paperboard: Germany (12%); United States of America (9%); China (9%); Sweden (7%); Finland (6%); Indonesia (5%); Canada (5%); France (3%); Austria (3%); Italy (3%); Belgium (3%).

Major importers of forest products

Percentage of global imports (2023)

  • Value of wood and paper products: United States of America (14%); China (11%); Germany (7%); France (5%); United Kingdom (5%); Italy (3%); Japan (3%); Netherlands (3%); Canada (3%).
  • Wood fuel: South Africa (18%); Eswatini (11%); Finland (9%); Italy (8%); United Kingdom (6%); Austria (5%); Romania (5%); Sweden (4%); France (5%); Slovenia (3%); Croatia (3%).
  • Industrial roundwood: China (37%); Austria (8%); Sweden (7%); Germany (4%); India (4%); Belgium (4%); Portugal (3%); Canada (3%).
  • Wood charcoal: China (21%); Saudi Arabia (6%); South Africa (4%); Senegal (4%); United States of America (4%); Japan (4%); Germany (3%); Bhutan (3%); Thailand (3%); Poland (3%).
  • Wood pellets, briquettes and other agglomerates: United Kingdom (21%); Japan (20%); Republic of Korea (13%); Denmark (9%); Netherlands (8%); Italy (7%); France (4%).
  • Sawnwood: China (22%); United States of America (20%); United Kingdom (5%); Italy (4%); Japan (3%).
  • Veneer sheets: China (37%); United States of America (9%); India (8%); France (4%); Malaysia (4%).
  • Wood-based panels: United States of America (18%); Germany (6%); United Kingdom (4%); Japan (4%); Italy (3%); China (3%); Republic of Korea (3%); Poland (3%); Canada (3%); Malaysia (3%).
  • Pulp for paper: China (44%); United States of America (9%); Germany (6%); Italy (5%); Republic of Korea (3%); Netherlands (3%); India (3%).
  • Recovered paper: India (17%); Germany (10%); Viet Nam (9%); Thailand (8%); Malaysia (7%); Indonesia (7%); Mexico (5%); Netherlands (5%).
  • Paper and paperboard: China (12%); Germany (8%); United States of America (7%); Italy (5%); Poland (4%); France (4%); United Kingdom (4%); Mexico (3%); India (3%); Belgium (3%).

ProductUnitProductionExports
2023Change (%) compared to: 2023Change (%) compared to: 
202220001980202220001980
Roundwoodmillion m³ 3 886-2%12%24% 103 -12%-12% 11%
  • Woodfuel
million m³ 1 961 0% 9% 17% 7 -7% 88% -
  • Industrial roundwood
million m³1 925 -4% 14% 33% 97-13% -16% 4%
Wood pellets and other agglomerates million tonnes51 -2% -
-
33 -6% -
-
Sawnwood million m³ 445-4% 13% 6% 130 -9% 14% 86%
Wood-based panels million m³ 3811% 114% 294% 85 -5% 61% 469%
  • Plywood and LVL
million m³ 110 -1% 88% 179% 28 -8% 61% 329%
  • Particle board, OSB and fibreboard
million m³ 2723% 127% 373% 56 -4% 61% 582%
Wood pulp Million tonnes 193 -2% 13% 53% 722% 87% 239%
Pulp from fibres other than woodMillion tonnes 11 1% -26% 55% 0.4 -4% 11% 73%
Recovered paper Million tonnes 232 -3% 62% 360% 46 -1%85% 724%
Paper and paperboard Million tonnes 401 -3% 24% 137% 104 -7% 6% 197%
Wood and paper products
USD billion - - - - 482-12% --
  • Primary wood and paper products
USD billion ----263-16% 81% 365%
  • Secondary processed wood products
USD billion - - - - 86-4% --
  • Secondary processed paper products
USD billion -- --132 -8% --