PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Kenya: FAO reports resurgence in wood production
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Global production of all major wood products is showing its largest growth since the global economic downturn of 2008-2009, according to new data published by the FAO.
In 2014, growth in wood products, including industrial roundwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels and pulp and paper, ranged from 1 to 5 percent, surpassing the pre-recession levels of 2007, the UN food and agriculture agency said in a news disptach from Rome.
The fastest growth was registered in Asia-Pacific and Latin America and Caribbean.
"Wood industries were among the hardest hit by the recent global economic downturn in 2008-2009," said FAO Forest Economic Statistics Team leader, Thais Linhares-Juvenal.
He added that the world is now seeing the highest growth of the global wood industries in the last five years, which is important to national economies and the wellbeing and livelihoods of millions of forest-dependant people worldwide.
FAO publishes the Statistical Yearbook of Forest Products on annual basis, aiming to provide countries with information and tools to assess the contribution of the forest products industry to global and national economies and sustainable development, and to improve their forest management and forestry policies.
Production of wood pellets, which are used as fuel, set a new record in 2014, growing by 16 percent over the previous year to reach 26 million tonnes, mainly driven by increasing consumption in Europe.
Europe and North America accounted for almost all global production (60 percent and 33 percent respectively).
Europe registered by far the largest consumption (78 percent) followed by the US (12 percent). Trade in pellets from Northern America to Europe (mainly the UK) increased by 25 percent in 2014 from previous year.
Production and consumption of wood pellets in Asia more than doubled in 2014 versus the previous year.
South Korea has emerged as the fourth largest wood pellet importer after the United Kingdom, Denmark and Italy, helping to drive up wood pellets production in many countries in the region, especially Vietnam, China, and Thailand.
Production of paper stagnated in Europe and declined in North America in 2014, but grew modestly in Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
-0- PANA DJ/VAO 19Dec2015
In 2014, growth in wood products, including industrial roundwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels and pulp and paper, ranged from 1 to 5 percent, surpassing the pre-recession levels of 2007, the UN food and agriculture agency said in a news disptach from Rome.
The fastest growth was registered in Asia-Pacific and Latin America and Caribbean.
"Wood industries were among the hardest hit by the recent global economic downturn in 2008-2009," said FAO Forest Economic Statistics Team leader, Thais Linhares-Juvenal.
He added that the world is now seeing the highest growth of the global wood industries in the last five years, which is important to national economies and the wellbeing and livelihoods of millions of forest-dependant people worldwide.
FAO publishes the Statistical Yearbook of Forest Products on annual basis, aiming to provide countries with information and tools to assess the contribution of the forest products industry to global and national economies and sustainable development, and to improve their forest management and forestry policies.
Production of wood pellets, which are used as fuel, set a new record in 2014, growing by 16 percent over the previous year to reach 26 million tonnes, mainly driven by increasing consumption in Europe.
Europe and North America accounted for almost all global production (60 percent and 33 percent respectively).
Europe registered by far the largest consumption (78 percent) followed by the US (12 percent). Trade in pellets from Northern America to Europe (mainly the UK) increased by 25 percent in 2014 from previous year.
Production and consumption of wood pellets in Asia more than doubled in 2014 versus the previous year.
South Korea has emerged as the fourth largest wood pellet importer after the United Kingdom, Denmark and Italy, helping to drive up wood pellets production in many countries in the region, especially Vietnam, China, and Thailand.
Production of paper stagnated in Europe and declined in North America in 2014, but grew modestly in Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
-0- PANA DJ/VAO 19Dec2015
