Exports of wood and wood products from Australia rose by almost a third in 2014, reaching a new record of AUD1.338 Billion, underpinned by strong woodchip and log export volumes. By December 2014, monthly exports totaled AUD141.2M, with woodchips (AUD96.8) and roundwood (AUD27.3M) combining to account for 87.9% of the value of all exports for the month.
Depreciation of the Australian Dollar has improved the competitiveness of most exports over the last eighteen months.
The chart below shows total monthly wood and wood products exports from Australia. The chart and background data can be downloaded from the FWPA Data Dashboard.
Fig 5
For further details, go to the FWPA Data Dashboard.
Drilling into the details on the Data Dashboard, it is evident that despite concerns about a new global slowdown, Australia’s exports of value added wood products also grew in 2014, compared with 2013.
The table below shows the value of each of the broad categories of wood products and the growth in imports from year-to-year.
Category |
2013 (AUDM)CY |
2014 (AUDM) CY |
% Change YoY |
| Woodchips, pellets (4401) | 656.0 | 838.7 | 27.9 |
| Roundwood (4403) | 215.0 | 306.5 | 42.6 |
| Sawnwood (4407) | 92.8 | 107.0 | 15.3 |
| Veneer (4408) | 18.2 | 32.5 | 78.6 |
| Mouldings (4409) | 3.4 | 3.1 | -8.8 |
| Particleboard (4410) | 1.7 | 5.8 | 241.2 |
| Woodpanels, MDF, hardboard (4411) | 21.3 | 30.5 | 43.2 |
| Plywood (4412) | 3.8 | 3.2 | -15.8 |
| Builder’s Joinery (4418) | 11.9 | 10.9 | -8.4 |
