BELGIUM - In 2023, European production of wood-based panels experienced a notable decline of 6.3%, as reported by the European Panel Federation (EPF).

This decrease was deemed disappointing according to the latest statistics released in the EPF’s Annual Report 2023, unveiled at their AGM held on June 19-21 in Riga, Latvia. Hosted by Latvian plywood producer Latvijas Finieras, the event gathered 180 industry professionals.

Despite this overall decline, wood-based panels outperformed the furniture and construction sectors, indicating a gain in market share within both segments for wood products.

Within the EU27/UK/EFTA region, OSB was the sole category to see production growth in 2023, increasing by 2% to 6.6 million m3 (from 6.5 million m3 in 2022). Conversely, particleboard, the largest product category, saw production decrease by 5% to 30.9 million m3 (from 32.5 million m3 in 2022). MDF experienced a more significant drop of 11%, producing 11.1 million m3 (compared to 12.5 million m3 in 2022).

Softboard, primarily comprising wood fibre insulation boards, had been an area of growth in recent years but declined by 6% to 4.8 million m3 (from 5.2 million m3 in 2022). Plywood production also saw a substantial decline of 15% to 2.6 million m3 (down from 3.1 million m3 in 2022), while hardboard, the smallest product area in the European wood-based panels industry, saw a reduction of 17% to 400,000 m3 (from 500,000 m3 in 2022).