ABARES Plantation Productivity Summary
The latest report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), commissioned under the auspices of the Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA), has delivered the first comprehensive national look at productivity trends in Australia’s plantation forestry estate — and the headline is cautiously encouraging. Source: An analysis of Plantation Productivity – DAFF
What the report found
The study uses a widely accepted metric, the Mean Annual Increment (MAI), which measures the average volume growth per hectare per year, to track how productivity has changed over the past 15–20 years.
For the dominant softwood plantations especially Pinus radiata (radiata pine) in south-eastern Australia, MAI has remained steady or even shown moderate increases over the last decade and a half. That points to consistent, reliable growth performance in an important timber species.
The results for hardwood plantations are more mixed. Because hardwood plantations have a smaller footprint, a more recent establishment history, and varying management goals (pulplog vs sawlog), it’s harder to discern a clear national trend in productivity.
According to growers consulted for the report, recent gains in MAI are largely due to improved plantation management, including better silviculture, advances in genetics, and more effective harvesting and processing practices, plus supply-chain innovations.
Growers also emphasised the need for proactive adaptation to growing risks, including climate change, regulatory shifts, and social licence pressures, and described ongoing investments in resilient practices.
Why this matters for FWPA members
For FWPA members, especially plantation growers, timber processors and wood-product manufacturers, these findings signal some positive long-term fundamentals:
Reliability of softwood supply: Continued stable or rising productivity in radiata pine provides confidence for downstream markets (sawn timber, structural timber), helping to underpin long-term supply for construction and manufacturing.
Opportunity for innovation and value-add: As growers implement improved silviculture and processing, there’s scope to increase yield and wood quality, strengthening the competitiveness of Australian wood products in domestic and export markets.
Need for strategic hardwood investment: The mixed hardwood results highlight the importance of tailored R&D, planting decisions and management, especially for timber or pulp/hardwood sawlog producers considering expansion or conversion.
Resilience & risk management: The emphasis on adaptation and risk mitigation aligns with broader challenges (climate, regulation, community expectations). Members may want to prioritise investment in resilient plantation and supply-chain practices now to safeguard future performance.
What’s next
While this report marks an important first step in tracking productivity across Australia’s plantation sector, it also lays the groundwork for future work to build a long-term “productivity index” and more refined yield-tables, something FWPA is actively supporting through its work program.
In doing so, the forest products sector will be better positioned to flag emerging risks and opportunities, guide R&D investment, and support robust policy and planning.
For FWPA members, the clear message is: productivity gains are real, and there’s scope to build on them. But realising that potential will require ongoing commitment to best-practice forestry, innovation, and resilience.
