Sawn softwood packaging grade sales totalled 621,034 m3 year-ended December 2025, up 12.6% on the previous year’s volume. Some packaging grades are also reportedly included in the small volume of Australia’s exports of sawn timber.
As major industry players continue their efforts to consolidate the softwood pallet manufacture and supply sector, Australia still finds itself importing an elevated level of timber packaging materials.
Reduced capacity in the hardwood sector – much of which is related to the closure of access to Victoria’s native forests and the similar closures of access to WA’s native forests – is a driver for market-shifting behaviour, both domestically and for imports.
The simple proposition is that in the absence of sufficient hardwood packaging timber supplies, much more work must be done by softwood packaging, across the economy.
Imports of timber pallets and other packaging made from timber were valued at AUDFob18.5 million in 2025, up 3.7% on the prior corresponding period and around 50% higher than prior to the closure of Victoria’s native forests.
In the month of December, imports were valued at AUDFob1.085 million, down 12.7% on December 2024.
Unfortunately, import data is only available by value, with no volume data reported. The chart shows the value of monthly imports, and in total, on an aggregate basis.
Timber Packaging Imports by Grade: Jan ‘22 – Dec ‘25 (AUDFob Million)
Source: ABS and IndustryEdge
China is the major supplier of Australia’s timber packaging imports, recording AUDFob7.5 million of imports over the last year, while Bahrain’s contribution rose to AUDFob4.7 million.
Timber Packaging Imports by Country Jan ’22 – Dec ‘25 (AUDFob & AUDM)
Source: ABS and IndustryEdge
China’s imports of timber packaging were up 14.7% year-ended December 2025, with Bahrain’s rising 7.3% over the same period, as the shipments from New Zealand ramped 27.0% to just short of AUDFob2.7 million.
