Tools and Resources
We use some essential cookies to make this website work.
We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use forestresearch.gov.uk, remember your settings and improve our services.
We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.
Figures on UK wood production (or removals) are compiled from a variety of sources:
The compilation of data on wood production was extended in 2004 to include Northern Ireland.
These sources cover removals of roundwood (trunk and branch wood) only. A survey was introduced in 2009 to collect data on removals of brash (branch wood and leaf material) and stumps (above-ground base part of trees). The collection of stump removals was discontinued in 2012.
Figures for removals from FE/FLS/NRW/FS woodlands are converted from cubic metres (m3) to green tonnes using standard conversion factors. For total softwood figures, the results from the Private Sector Softwood Removals Survey are combined with the data for FE/FLS/NRW/FS woodlands to produce total softwood removals.
For hardwood figures, the total hardwood removals are assumed to equal the total hardwood deliveries (obtained from industry surveys and industry associations; see subsequent pages for further information on these sources). Hardwood removals from FE/FLS/NRW/FS woodlands are then subtracted to give an estimate of the amount of hardwood removed from private sector woodlands.
The methodology used to estimate the quantity of UK softwood removals from private sector woodland was revised for the release of provisional 2011 estimates in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2011 provisional figures”. Details of the change in methodology and its impact on the figures are available in the “Methodology Review of Softwood Removals from Non-FC/FS Woodland” paper, available at Forest Research – Methodology and Outputs.
Private sector softwood removals are subject to revision annually (see following page, on the Private Sector Softwood Removals Survey). Removals from FE/FLS/NRW/FS woodlands are not normally revised. Total hardwood removals (and consequently hardwood removals from private sector woodlands) are subject to annual revisions (see notes on deliveries for further information).
Figures for 2018 are final; provisional figures were previously released in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2018 provisional figures”. Figures for 2014 to 2018 have been revised from those provided in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2018 provisional figures” to take account of additional returns and quality assurance checks. This has resulted in an upward revision to the estimates for hardwood removals (total and private sector) by 100 thousand green tonnes to reflect additional hardwood use for woodfuel.
Information on revisions made since “Forestry Statistics 2018” are provided in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2018 provisional figures”.
Figures are published as UK totals. Country breakdowns (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) are also published for softwood in table 2.2 for private sector removals and table 2.3 for FE/FLS/NRW/FS removals. Approximate country breakdowns are also estimated for hardwood removals.
Longer time series, presenting estimates of FE/FLS/NRW/FS and private sector removals by country and by softwood/hardwood are available from the Forest Research – Data Downloads web page.
Provisional figures for 2019 will be released on 14 May 2020 in “UK Wood Production and Trade: 2019 provisional figures”.
Final figures for 2019 will be released on 24 September 2020 in “Forestry Statistics 2020” and “Forestry Facts & Figures 2020”.
Chapter 2: UK-Grown Timber
Cookies are files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.
We use cookies to store information about how you use the dwi.gov.uk website, such as the pages you visit.
Find out more about cookies on forestresearch.gov.uk
We use 3 types of cookie. You can choose which cookies you're happy for us to use.
These essential cookies do things like remember your progress through a form. They always need to be on.
We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on user needs. Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymised information about: how you got to the site the pages you visit on forestresearch.gov.uk and how long you spend on each page what you click on while you're visiting the site
Some forestresearch.gov.uk pages may contain content from other sites, like YouTube or Flickr, which may set their own cookies. These sites are sometimes called ‘third party’ services. This tells us how many people are seeing the content and whether it’s useful.