In 2025, exports of wood and paper products were worth €1.1 billion, while imports of these products were worth €2.5 billion (See Table A).
Exports of Veneer Sheets & Wood-Based Panels were valued at €325 million in 2025 which represented 30% of the total value of exports of wood and paper products (See Table 4G).
Exports of Secondary Paper Products at €231 million accounted for a further 21% in 2025, while exports of Coniferous Sawnwood in 2025 were €184 million (See Tables 4L and 4B).
Imports of Secondary Paper Products were valued at €882 million in 2025 which represented 35% of the total value of imports in 2025. Secondary Wood Products accounted for a further 31% or €796 million (See Tables 4L and 4K).
Exports of Coniferous Sawnwood rose by 217% from 212,332 cubic metres in 1995 to 674,075 cubic metres in 2025. Exports of Coniferous Industrial Roundwood increased by 169% from 206,751 cubic metres in 1995 to 557,042 cubic metres in 2025 (See Tables 4B and 4A).
In 2025, Ireland exported €1.1 billion worth of wood and paper products, while imports of these products totalled €2.5 billion (See Table A).
In 2025, Secondary Paper Products made up 35% of total wood and paper imports, valued at €882 million. Secondary Wood Products accounted for another 31%, worth €796 million (See Figure 1 and Table 1B).
Exports of Veneer Sheets & Wood-Based Panels represented 30% of total wood and paper exports in 2025, with a value of €325 million. Exports of Secondary Paper Products and Coniferous Sawnwood accounted for a further 21% and 17% of exports value respectively (See Figure 2 and Table 1A).
| Table A: Value of Wood and Paper Exports and Imports 2020-2025 | ||
| €billion | ||
| Year | Exports | Imports |
| 2020 | 0.75 | 1.79 |
| 2021 | 1.05 | 2.09 |
| 2022 | 1.21 | 2.70 |
| 2023 | 1.02 | 2.52 |
| 2024 | 1.06 | 2.61 |
| 2025 | 1.10 | 2.53 |
| Imports | Value |
|---|---|
| Coniferous Roundwood | 35.478 |
| Coniferous Sawnwood | 123.819 |
| Veneer Sheets and Wood-based Panels | 190.979 |
| Paper and Paperboard | 348.045 |
| Secondary Wood Products | 796.155 |
| Secondary Paper Products | 882.363 |
| Exports | Value |
|---|---|
| Coniferous Roundwood | 47.39 |
| Coniferous Sawnwood | 184.282 |
| Veneer Sheets and Wood-based Panels | 325.262 |
| Paper and Paperboard | 46.331 |
| Secondary Wood Products | 150.109 |
| Secondary Paper Products | 230.915 |
The highest exports volume in 2025 was Veneer Sheets & Wood-Based Panels at 732,363 cubic metres, followed by Coniferous Sawnwood at 674,075 cubic metres and Coniferous Industrial Roundwood at 557,042 cubic metres (See Table 2).
In recent years, export volumes of Coniferous Industrial Roundwood, Coniferous Sawnwood, Veneer Sheets & Wood-Based Panels, and Recovered Paper have exceeded imports of these products, while import volumes of Wood Fuel, Pulp, Paper & Paperboard, Secondary Wood Products and Secondary Paper Products have exceeded export volumes (See Tables 3A and 3C).
Exports of Coniferous Sawnwood were at 674,075 cubic metres in 2025. This is a 217% increase from 212,332 cubic metres of Coniferous Sawnwood exported in 1995. Imports of Coniferous Sawnwood were at 360,901 cubic metres in 2025 (See Table 4B, Figure 3 and Figure 4).
Exports of Coniferous Industrial Roundwood were at 557,042 cubic metres in 2025, which was the highest export volume of coniferous industrial roundwood across the 1995 to 2025 time series.
Imports of Coniferous Industrial Roundwood were at 98,846 cubic metres in 2025, a 56% decrease from 223,692 cubic metres imported in 2023 (See Table 4A, Figure 3 and Figure 4).
| Imports | Coniferous Sawnwood | Coniferous Roundwood |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 258.85 | 28.265 |
| 1996 | 280.807 | 28.78 |
| 1997 | 350.311 | 72.939 |
| 1998 | 414.832 | 78.32 |
| 1999 | 437.814 | 72.702 |
| 2000 | 532.519 | 88.694 |
| 2001 | 444.893 | 130.929 |
| 2002 | 532.358 | 182.255 |
| 2003 | 690.684 | 235.321 |
| 2004 | 681.36 | 287.299 |
| 2005 | 747.42 | 321.045 |
| 2006 | 785.775 | 231.721 |
| 2007 | 625.971 | 239.618 |
| 2008 | 364.27 | 304.096 |
| 2009 | 208.409 | 202.932 |
| 2010 | 213.315 | 93.092 |
| 2011 | 166.712 | 98.437 |
| 2012 | 128.641 | 194.739 |
| 2013 | 120.849 | 243.239 |
| 2014 | 173.757 | 259.755 |
| 2015 | 203.16 | 302.73 |
| 2016 | 207.243 | 314.993 |
| 2017 | 235.916 | 378.922 |
| 2018 | 311.902 | 302.785 |
| 2019 | 440.153 | 278.687 |
| 2020 | 394.58 | 252.789 |
| 2021 | 415.029 | 295.861 |
| 2022 | 327.288 | 177.483 |
| 2023 | 282.962 | 223.692 |
| 2024 | 317.966 | 173.791 |
| 2025 | 360.901 | 98.846 |
| Exports | Coniferous Sawnwood | Coniferous Roundwood |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 212.332 | 206.751 |
| 1996 | 219.723 | 351.118 |
| 1997 | 231.823 | 234.167 |
| 1998 | 193.072 | 259.021 |
| 1999 | 190.398 | 280.035 |
| 2000 | 217.33 | 184.818 |
| 2001 | 259.281 | 364.641 |
| 2002 | 383.736 | 286.839 |
| 2003 | 403.855 | 301.906 |
| 2004 | 410.986 | 273.134 |
| 2005 | 354.376 | 352.327 |
| 2006 | 304.458 | 327.749 |
| 2007 | 301.013 | 312.938 |
| 2008 | 315.376 | 273.252 |
| 2009 | 458.858 | 261.367 |
| 2010 | 535.115 | 216.224 |
| 2011 | 498.637 | 185.133 |
| 2012 | 570.541 | 165.472 |
| 2013 | 638.372 | 225.894 |
| 2014 | 653.701 | 281.309 |
| 2015 | 626.422 | 269.422 |
| 2016 | 722.66 | 323.195 |
| 2017 | 724.091 | 343.416 |
| 2018 | 685.4 | 374.827 |
| 2019 | 639.997 | 549.963 |
| 2020 | 662.373 | 391.726 |
| 2021 | 676.883 | 443.807 |
| 2022 | 689.705 | 470.688 |
| 2023 | 586.399 | 459.19 |
| 2024 | 623.022 | 531.305 |
| 2025 | 674.075 | 557.042 |
Imports of Other Biomass were at 101,368 cubic metres in 2025, a 65% decrease from the series high of 288,929 cubic metres imported in 2023. Exports of Other Biomass were at 237,808 cubic metres in 2025 (See Table 4C and Figure 5).
| Other Biomass | Imports | Exports |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 24.008 | 101.292 |
| 1996 | 2.38 | 101.168 |
| 1997 | 2.362 | 55.23 |
| 1998 | 30.057 | 65.505 |
| 1999 | 36.301 | 91.596 |
| 2000 | 51.327 | 78.95 |
| 2001 | 97.598 | 88.748 |
| 2002 | 127.098 | 84.081 |
| 2003 | 131.772 | 76.783 |
| 2004 | 116.818 | 52.729 |
| 2005 | 203.462 | 46.648 |
| 2006 | 68.71 | 50.333 |
| 2007 | 160.692 | 60.173 |
| 2008 | 51.264 | 63.165 |
| 2009 | 30.081 | 44.129 |
| 2010 | 36.823 | 58.019 |
| 2011 | 22.088 | 115.432 |
| 2012 | 16.096 | 118 |
| 2013 | 34.214 | 33.058 |
| 2014 | 11.81 | 18.23 |
| 2015 | 9.468 | 26.49 |
| 2016 | 39.805 | 33.698 |
| 2017 | 91.341 | 76.735 |
| 2018 | 39.086 | 111.535 |
| 2019 | 68.881 | 118.084 |
| 2020 | 148.633 | 119.098 |
| 2021 | 112.083 | 78.902 |
| 2022 | 38.541 | 162.667 |
| 2023 | 288.929 | 242.942 |
| 2024 | 135.334 | 212.771 |
| 2025 | 101.368 | 237.808 |
Imports of Non-Coniferous Industrial Roundwood, Wood Fuel and Non-Coniferous Sawnwood were at 3,983, 49,165 and 30,858 cubic metres respectively in 2025 (See Tables 4D, 4E and 4F).
Exports of Veneer Sheets & Wood-Based Panels and exports of Recovered Paper were at 732,363 cubic metres and 473,658 tonnes respectively in 2025 (See Tables 4G and 4I). Imports of Secondary Paper Products and imports of Paper and Paperboard were at 434,109 tonnes and 316,870 tonnes respectively in 2025 (See Tables 4L and 4J).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (03 Jun 2026) published Wood and Paper Exports and Imports for 2024-2025.
Commenting on the release Niamh Shanahan, Statistician in the Environment Division of the CSO, said: "Imports and exports of wood and paper products were valued at €2.5 billion and €1.1 billion respectively in 2025.
Over the period 1995 to 2025, there was a substantial shift from exporting forest log towards processing the log removals from forests into products such as Sawnwood and, Veneer Sheets & Wood-Based Panels before exporting them.
Imports of coniferous industrial roundwood were 98,846 cubic metres in 2025, a 56% decrease from 2023. Exports of coniferous industrial roundwood were at 557,042 cubic metres, which was the highest export volume of coniferous industrial roundwood across the 1995 to 2025 time series.
In recent years, export volumes of Coniferous Industrial Roundwood, Coniferous Sawnwood, Veneer Sheets & Wood-Based Panels, and Recovered Paper have exceeded imports of these products.
In contrast import volumes of Wood Fuel, Pulp, Paper & Paperboard, Secondary Wood Products and Secondary Paper Products have exceeded export volumes."