The Australian Wood Industry Association has issued a warning that there will be a shortage of hardwood throughout the country

With the announcement of Victoria, Australia, that the original deadline for ending old-growth forest logging in 2030 will be advanced to January 1 next year, there has been controversy in Australia. The Australian Timber Industry Association warned that the premature prohibition of old-growth forest cutting would lead to a shortage of wood in Australia, especially hardwood.

At present, there are two main schools in Australia regarding the end of old-growth forest cutting or timber shortage in Victoria six years ahead of schedule: some believe that domestic cutting should be expanded to increase supply; The other part suggests avoiding wood shortages by restricting exports.
Joel Fitzgibbon, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association, who advocates expanding domestic logging to increase supply, said that the prohibition of old-growth forest logging in Victoria would increase the demand for timber imports, thus causing global environmental hazard.

He said that most hardwood imports mainly come from tropical forests in developing countries with environmental standards lower than Australia, which can neither protect and preserve Australia's old-growth forest nor prevent global deforestation. Joel Fitzgibbon advocates for expanding the logging of local timber and using it for both export and local sales.
We need to maintain the openness and prosperity of our sustainable forestry sector in order to meet both domestic and export needs, "he said.

Amelia Young, the national sports director from the Wilderness Association, stated that if the industry, business, and government are truly concerned about the shortage of timber resources, they should avoid it by restricting exports. Instead of continuing to extract and cut down Australia's old-growth forest in an unsustainable way.

Properly manage exports to meet domestic demand and ensure sustainable supply of artificial forest timber in China, "she said.

While the Australian Wood Industry Association warned that there might be a shortage of hardwood in Australia, the Australian federal government continued to support the export of timber from old-growth forest and plantations, and said that this was an important economic opportunity for the timber industry.
Australian Federal Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry, Murray Watt, expressed support for continuing exports and acknowledged the existence of timber shortages in Australia. In this regard, he mentioned that the government is making unprecedented investment in the domestic wood processing industry.

It is understood that the timber cut down from Australia's old-growth forest is mainly exported in the form of wood chips and whole logs, and is usually made into floors, window frames, furniture, etc. in China. In Victoria, nearly 86% of the cut down old-growth forest have become low value products, such as pulp for paper making and Wood Chip export. And Australia will also import some hardwood from Canada and New Zealand.

For a long time, global conservationists have been calling for an end to the deforestation and destruction of old-growth forest. This move by Victoria is a loud appeal to other areas of Australia that are still cutting down old-growth forest. In the future, Australia may reduce the cutting of old-growth forest, but in order to maintain the domestic market and export demand, the plantation area will certainly increase. However, it seems that the Australian government does not have such a plan to restrict the export of timber.