The wood market - France

The French wood industry is made up of a large number of players, covering forestry activities - defined by Larousse.fr as "all techniques enabling the creation and rational exploitation of forests while ensuring their conservation and regeneration" - and the production of raw wood through to finished products such as pulp, furniture and joinery. This study will focus on activities related to raw wood production, sawing and planing, while providing an overview of the various customer segments in the industry. Against a backdrop of growing consumer awareness of environmental issues, the French timber market faces a number of challenges. International competition remains a brake on its development, and the wood industry's external deficit will still amount to 8.5 billion euros in 2023, despite a drop of 1.1 billion euros compared to 2022. The French industry is particularly marked by the dominance of private forests, which account for 75% of wooded areas, compared with 25% for public forests. While some customer segments, such as furniture and joinery, are experiencing growth, others, such as construction and paper pulp, are in decline. Softwood lumber production has thus fallen by 9.86% between 2022 and 2023, from 7.1 million to 6.4 million cubic meters sawn. Wood prices are also subject to fluctuations, with an overall downward trend between 2023 and 2024, although certain species such as ash (+10%) and Douglas fir (+7%) escape this dynamic. At the same time, the reduction in oak exports (-35% between 2022 and 2023) contrasts with the increase in beech exports (+15% over the same period), illustrating contrasting trade dynamics. Furthermore, although oak represents only 12% of harvested wood volumes, it will account for 37.6% of market value in 2023, confirming its status as a premium species. Companies in the sector can count on public support policies, notably the promotion of wood in energy and construction. In addition, the contractualization of wood sales is increasing rapidly, with a target of 75% of state-owned wood and 35% of communal wood sold under supply contracts by 2025, compared with just 20% in 2011. Finally, the industry is faced with strict environmental regulations, such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which comes into force in December 2025. This requires strict traceability of wood products to guarantee their sustainable origin, which represents a major challenge for market players, especially those who have not yet invested in high-performance certification systems.