Total UK timber and panel product imports reached 9.1 million m³ in 2025, representing a 2.2% decline compared with 2024, according to the latest Timber Development UK (TDUK) figures.
TDUK says statistics show that demand for timber products has remained relatively subdued over the past four years, with the 2025 figures being the lowest annual import volumes for around a decade.
Total softwood imports reached 5.55 million m³, a fall of 4% compared with the 5.78 million m³ imported in 2024. This reduction was largely due to lower shipments from Sweden, Germany and the Irish Republic. These declines were partly offset by increases from Latvia and Finland in particular.
Despite the fall in volumes, the value of softwood imports increased by 8% during the year, driven by higher prices. The average price of imported softwood increased to £289 per m³ in 2025, compared with £256 per m³ in 2024. Within the softwood mix, redwood values increased, while whitewood values fell compared with the previous year.
TDUK says hardwood imports remained broadly stable, with volumes reaching 431,000m³ in 2025 – a 1.7% decline compared with 438,000m³ in 2024. Tropical hardwood imports experienced a larger reduction of 9.7%, while temperate hardwood imports declined by 3.9%. In contrast, imports of mixed hardwood species increased by 10%, reaching 115,000m³.
The USA, Latvia and France all increased their hardwood volumes supplied to the UK market, while Estonia, Romania and the Republic of Congo supplied less timber during the year. Cameroon remained the largest single source of tropical hardwoods.
The annual average price of hardwood imports in 2025 was marginally higher than in 2024 at £768m3, up by 0.4% from £764m3in 2024.
Plywood imports recorded one of the strongest performances of any product group in 2025. Total plywood imports increased by 10.1%, reaching 1.32 million m³, compared with 1.199 million m³ in 2024. Hardwood plywood imports rose by 7.1%, driven largely by higher shipments from China and Malaysia. Softwood plywood imports increased even more strongly, rising by 18.1% during the year to 389,000m³ due to higher volumes from Brazil and China.
Particleboard imports also performed well in 2025, increasing by 10.1% to 637,000m³. France and Germany remained the largest suppliers to the UK market, while Spain and Luxembourg also increased shipments.
Imports of OSB remained broadly unchanged during the year, increasing slightly by 0.3%, reaching 453,000m3. At the same time, the value of OSB imports increased by 6.2%. In contrast, MDF import volumes fell by 23%, dropping from 706,000m³ in 2024 to 544,000m³ in 2025, while the value of MDF imports also declined.
Nick Boulton, head of technical and trade policy at Timber Development UK said the figures highlight continued demand in certain parts of the market even while overall construction activity remains subdued.
He said further work may be required to consider the reasons for the substantial growth in hardwood plywood imports. Mr Boulton said this may be the result of anti-dumping legislation that the EU brought in last year against hardwood plywood from China. It is also possible that some of this increase could be conflict timbers in the form of Birch Plywood entering the market from Russia through third countries.
“Although 2025 recorded the lowest overall import volumes for many years, the statistics suggest that the market may be approaching a turning point,” he added.
Early forecasts indicate that softwood import volumes could rise by around 3.7% in 2026, potentially returning volumes to approximately 5.8 million m³, as confidence begins to improve in the housing and construction sectors, he said.
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