The 2012 Annual Review by the Irish Forestry and Forest Products Association (IFFPA) said the sector was worth €2.2bn to the Irish economy and last year 77% of forest products made in Ireland were exported, with sales worth €286m.
However, the IFFPA warned that the failure to reach government afforestation targets meant the industry may not have enough indigenous raw material in the coming years to meet demand.
Last year 6,653ha of new forest were planted, a fall of 20% on 2010. Current government targets are to increase forest cover from 10.6% in 2011 to 17% by 2030.
Ireland is now the largest exporter of MDF and the second-largest exporter of particleboard and OSB to the UK.
IFFPA director Marian Byron said: “Increased productivity may not translate into job creation unless government addresses a range of issues that are preventing the private sector from planting trees.
“The timber processing industry is a real Irish success story having turned itself from largely supplying the Irish construction sector to exporting 77% of what it produces to the UK, France and to new markets in continental Europe.
“The industry has the capacity to capture more export markets if it has access to raw materials in the years ahead.”
The IFFPA said as well as investment in planting, it required investment in infrastructure, such as harvesting and forest roads.
