Introduction

This chapter contains information about UK imports and exports of wood products, and about the level of apparent consumption estimated from data for UK production, imports and exports.

Most information on imports and exports come from the Overseas Trade Statistics compiled by HM Revenue & Customs. Estimates are provided at a UK level only. International comparisons of apparent consumption are provided later in the International Forestry chapter. Further information on the data sources and methodology used to compile the figures is provided in the Chapter 10: Sources and Methodology.

Figures for 2023 were previously published in UK Wood Production and Trade: provisional figures, released on 16 May 2024. Some figures for 2023 and earlier years have been revised from those previously published. For further details on revisions, see the Trade section of Chapter 10: Sources and Methodology.

A copy of all trade tables can be accessed in spreadsheet format from the Time Series page.

Key findings

The main findings are:

UK imports:

• 6.2 million cubic metres of sawnwood in 2023, a 1% decrease from 2022;
• 3.1 million cubic metres of wood-based panels in 2023, a 3% decrease from 2022;
• 6.4 million tonnes of wood pellets in 2023, a 15% decrease from 2022;
• 4.8 million tonnes of paper in 2023, a 12% decrease from 2022.
• The total value of wood product imports in 2023 was £9.0 billion, representing a 15% decrease from 2022; of which £4.3 billion was pulp and paper.
• Sawn softwood, sawn hardwood, particleboard, fibreboard, and paper and paperboard were mainly imported from EU countries in 2023.
• Wood pulp imports originated from a range of both EU and non-EU countries in 2023.
• The vast majority of UK imports of plywood and wood pellets came from countries outside the EU in 2023.
• Apparent consumption of wood in the UK was 42.4 million cubic metres Wood Raw Material Equivalent underbark in 2023, representing a 12% decrease from the previous year.

UK exports:

• The total value of wood product exports in 2023 was £1.7 billion, a 22% decrease from 2022; of which £1.5 billion was pulp and paper.

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