The research also showed a four per cent increase in export earnings for all wood products.

However, Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (a3p) CEO Neil Fisher says there are still many challenges facing wood and paper products manufacturing in Australia.

“The increase in exports has been driven by woodchips and recovered paper,” he says. “These are both relatively low value added products which will be used as the input for manufacturing in other countries.”

The study showed the Australia trade deficit in wood and paper products continues virtually unchanged at around $2bn per annum and confirms the positive role plantation and processing plants play in many regional areas around Australia.

“Governments need to provide a supportive regulatory and economic environment so that investment in plantations and wood and paper manufacturing can continue to deliver economic and social benefits for regional Australia,” says Fisher.

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