World Need for Wood By 1975

According to a new study just released by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations entitled “Wood: World Trends and Prospects,” the world will need one-half more wood and wood products per year within the next 10 years than it did in 1961. The 1975 total needs break down into l,500 million cubic meters of industrial wood, and about l,200 million cubic meters of fuelwood. This would show a sharp increase of world demand for industrial wood, making up most of the 50 percent increase, and a reduction in demand for fuelwood. Most of the additional wood needed for 1975 would come from the world’s temperate forests, particularly those of North America. Looking beyond 1975, the study says that even the huge reserves of Canada and the Soviet Union are not limitless, and that other regions may come into prominence as timber suppliers through man-made forests under intensified management for high yield. Sawnwood is still the most common processed wood product. The world will require one-quarter as much again annually by 1975 than it did in 1961. Consumption of wood-based panel products such as particleboard, fiberboard, and plywood is expected to grow faster than for any other product group. World consumption of particleboard by 1975 is expected to be five times the 1961 figure. Estimated consumption of fiberboard in 1975 will be two and one-half times the 1961 figure, while plywood consumption will more than double by 1975. Use of industrial papers and paperboards, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the 1975 total, will continue to grow faster than the use of printing and writing papers. The study reports the growing dependence of two major wood-consuming regions, Northwestern Europe and Japan, upon imports of forest products. Northwestern Europe was expected to have to increase her annual imports by as much as 60 million cubic meters by 1975 and Japan by up to 20 million cubic meters in terms of equivalent volumes of wood raw material. Future demands for wood imports will be mainly for lumber, quality hardwoods, and wood for pulping. The largest growth in demand, the world over, will be for wood for pulping. This demand can be met some regions by more intensive management of forests now in use, expansion of forest reserves, or establishment of manmade forests. Other regions, notably Europe and Japan, will draw more heavily on imports.

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