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Wood and Paper Exports and Imports 2024 - 2025

Imports of wood and paper products were €2.5 billion in 2025

Online ISSN: 2811-5511
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Key Findings

  • 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).

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."

Value of Wood and Paper Exports and Imports

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
YearExportsImports
20200.751.79
20211.052.09
20221.212.70
20231.022.52
20241.062.61
20251.102.53
ImportsValue
Coniferous Roundwood35.478
Coniferous Sawnwood123.819
Veneer Sheets and Wood-based Panels190.979
Paper and Paperboard348.045
Secondary Wood Products796.155
Secondary Paper Products882.363
ExportsValue
Coniferous Roundwood47.39
Coniferous Sawnwood184.282
Veneer Sheets and Wood-based Panels325.262
Paper and Paperboard46.331
Secondary Wood Products150.109
Secondary Paper Products230.915
Table 1A Value of Exports of Wood and Paper Products 1995-2025 (€000)

Table 1B Value of Imports of Wood and Paper Products 1995-2025 (€000)

Volume of Wood and Paper Exports and Imports

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).

Table 2 Exports and Imports of Wood and Paper Products 2025

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).

Table 3A Volume of Exports of Wood and Paper Products 1995-2025 (Cubic metres)

Table 3B Volume of Exports of Wood and Paper Products 1995-2025 (Tonnes)

Table 3C Volume of Imports of Wood and Paper Products 1995-2025 (Cubic metres)

Table 3D Volume of Imports of Wood and Paper Products 1995-2025 (Tonnes)

Wood and Paper Exports and Imports by Product

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).

Table 4A Exports and Imports of Coniferous Industrial Roundwood 1995-2025

Table 4B Exports and Imports of Coniferous Sawnwood 1995-2025

ImportsConiferous SawnwoodConiferous Roundwood
1995258.8528.265
1996280.80728.78
1997350.31172.939
1998414.83278.32
1999437.81472.702
2000532.51988.694
2001444.893130.929
2002532.358182.255
2003690.684235.321
2004681.36287.299
2005747.42321.045
2006785.775231.721
2007625.971239.618
2008364.27304.096
2009208.409202.932
2010213.31593.092
2011166.71298.437
2012128.641194.739
2013120.849243.239
2014173.757259.755
2015203.16302.73
2016207.243314.993
2017235.916378.922
2018311.902302.785
2019440.153278.687
2020394.58252.789
2021415.029295.861
2022327.288177.483
2023282.962223.692
2024317.966173.791
2025360.90198.846
ExportsConiferous SawnwoodConiferous Roundwood
1995212.332206.751
1996219.723351.118
1997231.823234.167
1998193.072259.021
1999190.398280.035
2000217.33184.818
2001259.281364.641
2002383.736286.839
2003403.855301.906
2004410.986273.134
2005354.376352.327
2006304.458327.749
2007301.013312.938
2008315.376273.252
2009458.858261.367
2010535.115216.224
2011498.637185.133
2012570.541165.472
2013638.372225.894
2014653.701281.309
2015626.422269.422
2016722.66323.195
2017724.091343.416
2018685.4374.827
2019639.997549.963
2020662.373391.726
2021676.883443.807
2022689.705470.688
2023586.399459.19
2024623.022531.305
2025674.075557.042

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).

Table 4C Exports and Imports of Other Biomass 1995-2025

Other BiomassImportsExports
199524.008101.292
19962.38101.168
19972.36255.23
199830.05765.505
199936.30191.596
200051.32778.95
200197.59888.748
2002127.09884.081
2003131.77276.783
2004116.81852.729
2005203.46246.648
200668.7150.333
2007160.69260.173
200851.26463.165
200930.08144.129
201036.82358.019
201122.088115.432
201216.096118
201334.21433.058
201411.8118.23
20159.46826.49
201639.80533.698
201791.34176.735
201839.086111.535
201968.881118.084
2020148.633119.098
2021112.08378.902
202238.541162.667
2023288.929242.942
2024135.334212.771
2025101.368237.808

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). 

Table 4D Exports and Imports of Non-Coniferous Industrial Roundwood 1995-2025

Table 4E Exports and Imports of Wood Fuel 1995-2025

Table 4F Exports and Imports of Non-Coniferous Sawnwood 1995-2025

Table 4G Exports and Imports of Veneer Sheets and Wood-based Panels 1995-2025

Table 4H Exports and Imports of Pulp 1995-2025

Table 4I Exports and Imports of Recovered Paper 1995-2025

Table 4J Exports and Imports of Paper and Paperboard 1995-2025

Table 4K Exports and Imports of Secondary Wood Products 1995-2025

Table 4L Exports and Imports of Secondary Paper Products 1995-2025

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