24 December 2025
The global forest
products sector saw recovery in 2024 following a steep
decline the previous year, according to a new report
released on Wednesday by the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
FAO’s
statistics cover 77 product categories, 27 product groups
and over 245 countries and territories. The report presents
recent trends in data for trade and for each of the main
forest product groups.
What are the main
trends?
Global international trade in wood
and paper products regained
momentum, with modest growth recorded across most major
product groups, according to FAO.
- The upswing
comes after a 14 per cent drop overall in trade of wood and
paper products in 2023. - Industrial roundwood
removals, referring to the total volume of wood harvested
for uses other than energy, rose by two per cent in 2024,
although its global trade declined by one per
cent. - Global production of sawnwood such as planks,
beams and other manufactured timber products, remained
nearly unchanged but varied regionally. Trade in sawnwood
recorded no overall change compared to
2023. - Wood-based panels grew for a second
consecutive year. Global production expanded by 5 per
cent. - Wood pulp production climbed three per cent to
reach 189 million tonnes, while international trade expanded
two per cent to an all-time high of 73 million
tonnes. - Wood pellets have seen extraordinary growth
in recent decades, mainly driven by bioenergy targets in
Europe, the Republic of Korea and Japan. After a slight dip
in 2023, global production returned to 48 million tonnes in
2024, equal to the 2022 level.
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Why it
matters
Different types of trees can be used
for housing, shelter, heat, food, medicine and even textiles
or buildings.
“Forests support millions of
livelihoods worldwide, and the number is set to rise as
forests offer more economic opportunities in a growing range
of industries, including sustainable wood production,”
said FAO Director-General Dongyu Qu.
Promoting the
sustainable use of forests is also part of Sustainable
Development Goal 15, a vision countries have agreed
to.
When sustainably used, forests sustain life.
Another recently published report
by FAO assessing forest resources showed that the net loss
of forest area has been reduced by more than half since the
1990s and that over 90 per cent of forests are regenerating
naturally.
