Recently, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations stated that the global production and trade volume of major wood products such as industrial roundwood, sawn timber and wood-based boards in 2018 reached the highest value since the organization began recording forest statistics in 1947.

     According to the latest data released by FAO, the volume of timber production and trading around the world reached record highs in 2018. International trade volume increased by 11% over 2017.

     Sven Walter, senior forestry officer in charge of the FAO Forest Products and Statistics Group, said: "The increased production of renewable forest products can replace fossil products with a higher carbon footprint, which will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals." .

     The fastest-growing regions are North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, mainly driven by positive economic growth.

In 2018, the world's sawn timber output increased by 2%, and the output of sawn timber and board was a record high. In 2018, the global wood pulp production and trade volume also increased by 2%, reaching 188 million tons and 66 million tons, respectively, setting a record high.

As a producer and consumer of forest products, China is becoming increasingly important, and its sawn timber output has recently surpassed that of the United States. The country is currently the largest producer and consumer of wood-based board and wood fiber paper.

    In 2018, China's industrial roundwood imports increased by 8%. At the same time, the growth rate of its sawn timber and board production and consumption continued to lead the rest of the world.

Sawdust boards and OSB boards have increased sharply:

Among all wood product categories, sawdust boards and OSB boards, which are commonly used in construction and furniture manufacturing, saw the fastest growth in global production, with growth rates of 25% and 13% from 2014 to 2018, respectively. Most of this growth in demand is coming from Eastern Europe, including the Russian Federation.

In 2018, global industrial roundwood output increased by 5% to a record 2.03 billion cubic meters. Global trade increased by 7% to a record 138 million cubic meters, of which China accounted for 25% of the import share. In 2018, New Zealand replaced the Russian Federation as the largest exporter of industrial logs.

In comparison, global paper and board production shrank by 2% in 2018. European and North American paper production has stagnated, while Africa and Asia Pacific have declined.

Affected by digital technology, the output of printing and writing paper fell by 4% to its lowest level since 1996.

Wood pellets market continues to boom:

In recent years, the production of wood pellets has increased dramatically, largely due to the demand generated by the European Commission's bioenergy targets. In 2018, global production increased again by 11% to 37 million tons, providing an opportunity to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

 Europe and North America contributed the largest share of global production, but production in the Asia-Pacific region doubled between 2014 and 2018, reaching 15% of global production.

【Reference: anywood.com】