Furphy: If we stop logging native forests we’ll end up killing Orangutans.

Fact: Native forest logging is a small and declining share of the timber industry.

Native forest logging is a small and declining share of the Australian timber industry. There is no evidence that this decline has led (or that its further decline will lead) to increased logging of the native forests of southeast Asia.

In 2022-2023, just 10 per cent of the total volume of logs harvested in Australia was from native forests, with 90 per cent being from commercial plantations (ABARES 2024d). This compares to 40 per cent from native forests in 2002-2003 (ABARES 2024b).

The volume of logs taken from the native forests of NSW declined from 1,904 thousand cubic metres in 2002-2003 to 944 in 2018-2019 (before the Black Summer bushfires) and 661 in 2022-2023. The figures for native forests nationally were 10,314 in 2002-2003, 3,868 in 2018-2019, and 2,353 in 2022-2023. In other words, the reduction in harvest over that period is more than the current harvest. This decline is the case both for saw and veneer logs and for pulplogs (ABARES 2024b).

What happened to imports during that time? The volume of paper and paperboard imports decreased (ABARES 2024b). The volume of sawnwood and wood products for construction fluctuated year to year but overall has remained fairly stable, with the exception of wood-based panels. The latter (comprising mainly plywood) more than doubled over the same period (ABARES 2024b).

The top ten countries of origin of imported sawnwood and construction wood products over the 20-year period were Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United States of America. The top country, by far, is now China, due primarily to imports of wood-based panels and mouldings. The second-largest source of imports is New Zealand, which has an entirely plantation-based industry. The volume of imports from Indonesia has remained fairly steady since 2002-2003, while imports from Malaysia have decreased (ABARES 2004c).

Along with saw and veneer logs (mainly used for domestic consumption), low-value woodchipping for export dominates the Australian timber industry. In 2022-2023, of the total volume of logs taken from Australian forests, 40 per cent was pulplogs for woodchips for export. There are opportunities for Australia to shift away from export woodchipping, reduce reliance on imports of wood-based panels and grow domestic manufacturing of engineered wood products from plantation timber (Forest Futures 2025).

Further reading

ABARES (2024). Forest facts. Webpage, last updated 17 December. Available at: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/forestsaustralia/forest-facts.

Forest Futures (2025). Forests for the future. Report, Forest Futures, an intiative of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation. Available at: https://www.forestfutures.org.au/policy_research.