The UK\u2019s reliance on imported timber should be formally recognised as a national security risk, according to a policy report presented in Parliament, which warns that structural dependence on external supply leaves the country exposed to geopolitical disruption, price volatility and constrained availability.<\/p>\n
The report, Timber: An Issue of National Security and Economic Resilience<\/em>, published by Confor, states that the UK imports more than 80% of the timber it consumes annually, making it one of the world\u2019s largest net importers of forest products. This dependence, estimated at around 81%, is described not as a trade characteristic but as a systemic vulnerability affecting housing delivery, infrastructure development and the transition to low-carbon construction.<\/p>\n The warning follows a joint statement by the Forestry Commission and Natural England, which identified domestic timber shortages as a matter of national security, reinforcing concerns now brought forward at parliamentary level.<\/p>\n Rising demand, tightening supply<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the report, global timber demand is expected to increase significantly as construction sectors shift toward renewable and lower-carbon materials. At the same time, supply conditions are tightening. Climate-related pressures, pest outbreaks and rising domestic demand are reducing export capacity in several traditional supplier countries. Russia, identified as the largest untapped forest resource globally, remains largely inaccessible due to geopolitical constraints, while Canada has seen its harvest potential affected by widespread forest losses linked to beetle infestations.<\/p>\n The report draws attention to the experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, when disruptions in global supply chains led to sharp increases in timber prices. In parts of Europe, structural timber costs rose by more than 60% within a year, delaying construction projects and increasing costs across the building sector. Domestic production, although limited, provided a degree of stability during this period.<\/p>\n Domestic gap and long-term pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n The UK\u2019s forestry and wood processing sector currently supports more than 90,000 jobs and contributes around \u00a33 billion annually to the economy, anchored in approximately 180 sawmills and primary processing facilities, many located in rural areas where alternative industrial employment is limited. Each processing job supports additional roles in harvesting, transport and downstream construction.<\/p>\n Despite this, domestic production remains insufficient to meet demand. The UK imports timber worth approximately \u00a39 billion annually, accounting for around 80% of consumption. Woodland creation targets are not being achieved, and productive forest areas in England are in decline.<\/p>\n Ben Lake, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Timber Security, said timber underpins housing, infrastructure and economic resilience, and that strengthening domestic forestry and processing capacity would improve supply chain stability and support rural economies.<\/p>\n The report sets out a series of policy recommendations, including the integration of timber supply metrics into the National Security Risk Assessment and the creation of a cross-government Timber Security Taskforce reporting to the Cabinet Office. It also calls for long-term financial support for productive forestry, recognition of wood processing as strategic manufacturing, and annual reporting on import dependency and domestic capacity.<\/p>\n Long-term projections from Forest Research indicate that softwood availability in Great Britain could decline significantly over the coming decades, falling from a projected peak of around 19.1 million m\u00b3 per year in the mid-2030s to as little as 11\u201312 million m\u00b3 by the 2050s. The average annual availability over a 50-year period is estimated at 14.4 million m\u00b3, with Scotland accounting for the majority of supply.<\/p>\n The report argues that without a significant expansion of domestic forestry and processing capacity, the UK will remain exposed to external shocks at a time when timber demand is rising and global supply conditions are becoming more constrained.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n