China Dominates 43% of Australia’s Engineered Wood Imports

Engineered wood products now account for 30 per cent of Australia’s solid wood imports by volume, according to a federally funded analysis released by University of Queensland resource economist Dr Tyron Venn.

Import Growth Outpaces Stagnant Domestic Production

Australia’s domestic manufacturing plants once covered the entirety of national demand in this category during the early 2000s. By the 2016-17 financial year, local production still accounted for 77 per cent of consumption, according to Dr Venn’s analysis, co-authored by Zuhui Huang and Jaanvi Lachhwani. Since then, rolling imports climbed from 1.5 million cubic metres of roundwood equivalent in 2016-17 to 2.0 million cubic metres by 2022-23. Australian plywood imports also crossed 500,000 cubic metres early this year on Australian Bureau of Statistics product series.

Over a two-decade span, particleboard, MDF, and plywood output hovered around the 2002-03 mark of 2 million cubic metres. Australian facilities currently draw more than 95 per cent of their fibre from softwood, with particleboard and MDF alone representing 90 per cent of total national production.

High Exposure to Elevated-Risk Harvesting Nations

More than two-thirds of Australia’s engineered wood imports originate from countries placed in elevated-risk bands by Forest Trends’ Global Illegal Logging and Associated Trade Risk Data Tool. This classification groups every nation below the top tier into a single category where standard desk checks cannot clear supply chains. China alone supplies 43 per cent of Australia’s import volume in this sector.

Other major suppliers include New Zealand, North America, and Western Europe, which collectively hold a 32 per cent low-risk share. Tropical suppliers make up smaller portions, led by Malaysia at 8 per cent and Indonesia at 6 per cent. Brazil and other tropical developing nations account for 3 per cent each, followed by Romania at 2 per cent, and Thailand, Vietnam, and Russia at 1 per cent apiece.

China’s Role as a Global Processing Hub

Chinese mills processed an average of 115.9 million cubic metres of imported wood annually across the six years leading up to 2023. Of that intake, 61.3 per cent came from elevated-risk origins, with Russia alone accounting for 29.6 per cent. Products shipped from China to Australia carry the elevated-risk banding at a lower rate of 43.9 per cent because Australian orders typically source from provinces with less exposure.

However, traceability remains a significant hurdle. Authors of the analysis could identify a specific wood type on only 33 per cent of the volume arriving in Australia. A further 32 per cent was labelled merely as hardwood without specifying the exact species, while 35 per cent carried no wood type description at all. Wooden furniture accounted for 70 per cent of the volume that omitted wood type data entirely.

Russian Fibre Movement and Industry Strains

Russian timber continues to enter Australia through both direct and indirect routes. Data shows 192,300 cubic metres moved directly each year alongside 122,500 cubic metres routed through Chinese mills across a window in which bilateral sanctions only began in 2022. Australian regulatory forensic testing released under freedom of information laws revealed that 37 out of 74 sampled imported products displayed results inconsistent with their claimed provenance or taxonomy.

Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia chief executive Gavin Matthew addressed a Senate inquiry by stating that current measures have failed to halt illicit shipments, while pointing out that up to 6 per cent of the country’s timber imports face a high likelihood of containing Russian material. “Tariffs do work, but these sanctions have not worked,” Mr Matthew told the inquiry, noting that the sector puts up to 6 per cent of the nation’s timber imports at high risk of carrying Russian fibre. One local manufacturer already reduced its workforce from 1,200 to 950 and closed two mills that are unlikely to reopen.

Overcoming Domestic Supply and Plantation Gaps

Replacing China-imported volumes, which consist of 27.4 per cent tropical hardwood and 17.5 per cent temperate hardwood, presents a distinct manufacturing challenge. The domestic industry runs on more than 95 per cent softwood and lacks scale in processing these specific hardwood varieties. Recommendations within the report urge the Commonwealth to assist the existing hardwood plantation estate in feeding a domestic engineered wood sector.

Realising sovereign manufacturing gains through this pathway will take five to 10 years, while native forest silviculture requires 10 to 20 years and new hardwood plantations demand 30 or more years to mature. Although plantation feedstock grew substantially over the past two decades—with pulp log volumes for panels holding between 0.96 and 1.58 million cubic metres annually—Australia grew the fibre without expanding its processing plants.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of Australia’s solid wood imports are engineered wood products?

Roughly 30 per cent of all solid wood shipments entering Australia by volume consist of engineered wood materials, trailing only sawn softwood imports.

What share of Australia’s engineered wood imports come from elevated-risk nations?

According to the University of Queensland resource economics analysis, 68 per cent of Australia’s engineered wood import volume originates from nations carrying an elevated risk of illegal harvesting.

Can certified wood solve the illegal timber import issue?

No. The report notes that the global certified wood pool is finite, meaning every certified container bound for Australia simply leaves uncertified volume to other buyers rather than reducing total risk.

How much time is needed to build sovereign manufacturing capacity using local hardwoods?

Industry estimates indicate Australia sits five to 10 years away from meaningful gains in sovereign capacity, assuming immediate investment in plant equipment and reliance on the existing hardwood plantation estate.