ITTO Biennial Review: global tropical log imports hit new low, furniture exports lag
20 October 2025, Yokohama
Sawn rosewood for furniture making in Shanghai, China. © L. Qiang/ITTO
The ITTO launches the 2023–2024 edition of its Biennial Review on World Statistics Day 2025, which examines markets for both primary and secondary wood products.
The Biennial Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation presents the most up-to-date and reliable international statistics available on global production and trade of timber, with an emphasis on the tropics.
World imports of tropical logs hit a new low in 2024, while ITTO Members’ exports of wooden furniture also continued to decline, according to the Organization’s latest review of global tropical timber markets.
The review highlights how the tropical log trade has been on a downward trend since 2018 due to factors including a contraction in China’s property sector that has dampened demand, and log export restrictions in producer countries that have constrained supply.
As a consequence, in 2024, world imports of tropical logs reached their lowest level in ITTO’s 34-year statistical records at 10.2 million cubic meters. Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands continued to dominate tropical log exports, mostly to meet demand in China.
Also under pressure was tropical plywood. After recovering strongly from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, global trade in this sector dropped by 15 percent to 8.4 million m3 in 2023 and remained around this level in 2024. The trend largely reflects demand in the United States of America, which accounted for 23 percent of world tropical plywood imports in 2024, with housing demand negatively impacted by high inflation and interest rates.
In its examination of the tropical plywood sector, the review highlights how Malaysia, once a major exporter, has now emerged as a significant importer of tropical plywood. Malaysia’s exports dropped to a historic low in 2024, due to chronic log supply shortages, rising raw material and manufacturing costs, and weak demand in Japan, the major market. In 2024, Malaysia became ITTO’s fourth largest tropical plywood importer after the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Another sector of global trade that rebounded after the pandemic was wooden furniture, reaching a peak of USD 104.2 billion in 2022, up 39 percent on the value of exports in 2020. However, growth subsequently slowed due to global economic uncertainties, supply chain and logistical constraints, strong inflationary pressures impacting manufacturing costs and consumer demand, and devaluation of major currencies in relation to the US dollar.
In 2023, ITTO members’ exports of wooden furniture and parts were down 11 percent by value to USD 93 billion, and continued to contract in 2024. ITTO member countries accounted for 94 percent of world exports of wooden furniture and parts in 2024, with China accounting for 27%, and producer countries for another 26 percent. Viet Nam, the dominant exporter among ITTO producer countries, saw wooden furniture exports contract by 23 percent to USD 11.2 billion in 2023 before rebounding somewhat in 2024. The trend reflects demand constraints in the United States, the dominant market.
“Data collection, dissemination and analysis on timber products remains one of the cornerstones of ITTO’s core elements under its mandate,” declared Ms Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director. “The ITTO Biennial Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation remains the flagship of the Organization’s statistical capacity and analysis, used and referred to widely globally.”
The ITTO Biennial review, which also provides information on the economies of ITTO member countries, is based on information submitted by ITTO member countries through the Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire, supplemented by other sources as necessary.
The 2023–24 review, as well as previous editions, can be found at www.itto.int/biennal_review/.