Australia's forest industries have again stressed the urgent need for more timber and wood fibre to be grown locally as the world's largest international forestry certifier, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) announces restrictions on all timber from Russia and Belarus. This timber is now labelled 'conflict timber', meaning it cannot be used in PEFC certified products, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Ross Hampton said today.
"The Russia/Ukraine conflict is its own tragedy, but the impact is spreading across international supply chains. This PEFC decision is the right call, but it will only tighten the supply of imported timber and fibre into Australia, where we're already experiencing supply constraints. This is yet another clear argument for Australia to secure its local supply of sustainable timber and fibre," Ross Hampton said.
In 2021 alone we imported more than $80 million worth timber from Russia, while almost a quarter of total timber import volume came from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, in the region.
"The PEFC decision is another important factor in a weight of already compelling arguments to fast track the planting of trees for timber and fibre to shore up critical future supply," Ross Hampton concluded.
