Renewable, sustainable, essential 

Our forest industries are carbon positive – storing carbon in the growing forests and continuing to store it for the life of the timber and paper products created.

WA’s plantation sector, consisting of hardwood and softwood varieties, contributes over 1.18 billion dollars of economic activity.

Plantation timber is used to make the timber frames for our homes, engineered wood products used to build new multi-storey residential and commercial buildings, wood-based panels for our kitchens, pallets to move our goods, and wood fibre used to manufacture paper, packaging and bioproducts, replacing single use plastics. In addition, residues go into making potting mix, mulches, composts and landscaped products for our gardens.

The softwood plantation estate currently spans about 60,000 hectares, comprised of Radiata (Pinus radiata) and Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). The majority of the softwood estate is owned by the State Government and is managed by the Forest Products Commission.

WA has a hardwood plantation estate of about 160,000 hectares, which is primarily blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus), located mainly in the Great Southern region. Hardwood plantations are used mainly for the production of high-quality paper products, exported as premium chip out of the Albany and Bunbury ports.