18 December 2014: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released global forest data showing an increase in wood product production in 2013. The ‘2013 Global Forest Products Facts and Figures’ also notes the emergence over the past five years of China and the Russian Federation as significant forest product producers and consumers.

Other trends noted for the period 2008 to 2013 include a drop in market share among European countries due, in part, to slow recovery following the financial crisis. With regard to product-specific trends, the report states that wood pellet, sawnwood and wood panels have experienced notable increases in consumption and production. In fact, wood pellet production, according to the report, reached a record high largely due to bio-energy policies in Europe and North America. On the other hand, the pulp and paper market has grown very slowly. This slow growth is attributed, to some extent, to weaker demand from China.

The report presents a summary of the findings of forest product statistics collected by FAO covering 54 product categories across 245 countries and territories. The data are also available through the Statistics Division of FAO (FAOSTAT) forestry database. [FAO Press Release] [Publication: 2013 Global Forest Products Facts and Figures]