In its annual publication presenting statistics on woodland, forestry and primary wood processing, the FC revealed the UK was only behind the US, China and Japan when it came to net imports.
Wood products imported into the UK last year were valued at £6.5bn, equivalent to 53 million m3 of timber underbark.
“Forestry Statistics 2006” also revealed that around nine million tonnes of UK roundwood was delivered to primary wood processors last year, and that about 9,000ha of new woodland were created in the UK in 2005-06.
Meanwhile, the FC’s new spend on public forests totalled £66m in 2005-06, and a further £104m was spent on other activities, including grants, administration and research.
The UK’s woodland area stood at 2.8 million ha this year, of which 1.2 million ha is independently certified as sustainably managed.
The report can be found at www.forestry.gov.uk/statistics
