In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, logistical supply issues that arose in tropical countries appeared to accelerate a long-term trend in the EU27 market to move away from tropical timber products. However, the situation has changed.

The share of tropical timber products in the total value of EU27 imports of wood and wooden furniture fell from 20% in 2020 to just 17% in 2021. However, the situation changed last year, as the share of tropical products saw its largest increase in at least the last 15 years, rising to 21% of the total value of EU27 imports of wood products and wooden furniture. The recovery in the value and share of tropical timber products in trade with the European Union in 2022 was driven by the normalisation of supply chains and a decline in freight rates following the severe disruptions caused by the pandemic, as well as a sharp decrease in the available supply of wood products from Russia and Belarus over the year.

In 2021, the EU27 imported wood and wooden furniture from Russia and Belarus with a total value of 4.95 billion US dollars, which is almost a quarter of the total import value of these products. However, by 2022, this volume had fallen to just 2.24 billion US dollars.

The European Union first imposed trade sanctions on Belarusian wood products on 2 March 2022. On 8 April 2022, these were also extended to Russian wood products. On 10 March 2022, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade announced a ban on the export of all wood and timber-related products to "unfriendly countries", including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

The two leading certification organisations – PEFC and FSC – announced in March 2022 that all timber originating from Russia and Belarus would be classified as "conflict timber" (i.e., from controversial sources) and could not be sold or promoted as PEFC or FSC certified timber. This significantly affected many European companies that were heavily dependent on Russia and Belarus for supplies of certified timber.

Of the total global FSC forest area, which stood at 237 million hectares at the beginning of last year, 63 million hectares (27%) were in Russia and 15 million hectares (6%) in Belarus.

Of the PEFC-certified area worldwide, which stood at 328 million hectares at the beginning of last year, 32 million hectares (10%) were in Russia and 9 million hectares (3%) in Belarus. PEFC reported that as of the beginning of 2023, there were no PEFC-certified forests in either Russia or Belarus.

FSC currently reports zero certified forest area in Belarus, but 39.5 million hectares in Russia, despite the "conflict timber" category.

EU-27 trade data show that it took time for these measures to take effect, and wood products were still being imported in significant volumes from both Russia and Belarus until July 2022. However, in the final five months of the year, EU27 imports from both these countries fell almost to zero. In value terms, tropical timber significantly increased in relation to the sharp drop in EU27 imports of wood products from Russia and Belarus in 2022.

While the total EU27 import of wood and wooden furniture fell by 4% from 21.2 billion US dollars in 2021 to 20.4 billion US dollars in 2022, imports of tropical products grew by 18% over the same period, from 3.7 billion US dollars to 4.4 billion US dollars. The value of EU27 imports of wood and wooden furniture from

China increased by only 4% in 2022 to 6.0 billion US dollars, although this followed a substantial 42% increase the previous year. The value of imports from Ukraine also increased by 9% to 1.9 billion US dollars in 2022, despite serious disruptions due to the war. It should be noted that in 2021, there was a 55% increase.

Other notable winners were Turkey, whose export value to the EU27 increased by 32% last year to 890 million US dollars, and non-tropical products from Brazil, the import value of which rose by 54% in 2022 to 690 million US dollars.

The value of EU27 imports from tropical countries increased last year across all wood product groups, including the furniture sector (+10% to 1.73 billion US dollars), sawn timber (+22% to 904 million US dollars), mouldings/decking (+21% to 396 million US dollars), joinery products (+27% to 286 million US dollars), plywood (+52% to 254 million US dollars), veneer (+13% to 234 million US dollars), fittings/ornaments (+55% to 127 million US dollars), flooring (+45% to 89 million US dollars), and logs (+10% to 65 million US dollars).