Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade to outline the promise and complexity of growing Canadian forest sector exports to Japan — and to make a pointed case for sustained federal investment to make it happen. Canada currently ships roughly $1 billion annually to Japan, a figure Nighbor put in context: it reflects a century of Canadian forestry trade there and 50 years of work by the Canada Wood Group. “It’s a heavy lift,” he said. Against nearly $8 billion in annual softwood lumber exports to the United States — now facing combined duties and Section 232 tariffs in the 45% range — Japan is a real but incremental diversification opportunity. Canada holds 65% of Japan’s 2×4 dimension lumber market, built by actively developing a wood-building culture where one didn’t naturally exist. Holding and growing that share, Nighbor told the committee, requires sustained technical engagement on codes, standards, and the platform frame system — not simply shipping more product. He also flagged headwinds: declining Japanese housing starts, growing domestic Japanese lumber supply, aggressive European entry across lumber, pulp, and pellets, and tightening Japanese sustainability and traceability requirements.
Nighbor’s asks to the committee were specific. He called for dedicated multi-year funding for the Canada Wood Group to build on its export development work, and for doubling the funding of NRCan’s Global Forest Leadership Program. He asked for federal investment in market-entry infrastructure — spec alignment tools, testing labs, and distributor networks — applicable to both Japan and Korea. And he made the case for continued government-led trade missions, pointing to a BC and Alberta forestry-specific mission to Japan in November as the kind of targeted engagement that moves the needle. Beyond lumber, Nighbor identified mass timber and engineered wood — aligned with Japan’s housing renewal, decarbonization, and seismic resilience priorities — and bioeconomy products including biocarbon, biofuels, and biomass as the next frontier for Canadian forest exports to Japan.
OTTAWA — The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association (CKCA) supports the Government of Canada’s launch of a 
The Trump administration has begun processing refunds for billions of dollars in tariffs that the US Supreme Court struck down in February. In what is to be the biggest repayment programme in history, companies can apply online for money they were charged under the “Liberation Day” tariffs – plus interest – to be returned. …But individual consumers, who were hit by the tariffs indirectly through higher prices, are not expected to be compensated. …”All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit” from the high court’s ruling, Judge Richard Eaton wrote. As of early April, more than 56,000 importers had completed the necessary steps to apply for refunds online when the portal opened, with their claims worth $127bn. The portal, known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (Cape), went live on Monday. 
Researchers at the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Research Station and Louisiana State University have published a paper that investigates how the European Union Deforestation Regulations could alter global wood pellet trade patterns. The paper is titled “Wood pellet market restructuring under the European Union deforestation regulation: A dynamic spatial equilibrium analysis.” …“Our results suggest the EUDR reallocates global trade rather than reducing global production,” the researchers wrote. While the regulation succeeds in reducing the European Union’s reliance on imports and increases its share of consumption of deforestation-free products, it does not materially lower the total amount of wood pellets produced and burned worldwide. …The main economic result is a shift in trade flows, where pellets that are blocked from the European market are redirected to Asian buyers. …The large production losses projected for the US Southeast, compared to the much smaller losses for Canada.
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s trade surplus with the rest of the world shrank by 60 per cent in February as exports to the United States dropped by more than a quarter, with U.S. import tariffs of 15 per cent largely in place on EU goods. EU exports as a whole were 9.3 per cent lower in February than a year earlier, while imports were down 3.5 per cent, EU statistics office Eurostat said on Friday. The largest export decline was towards the U.S., with a drop of 26.4 per cent, while imports from the United States were 3.2 per cent lower. EU exports to China were also down. A year ago, EU exporters had begun front-loading shipments to the U.S. in anticipation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, inflating the export figures for early 2025 and potentially explaining February’s sharp decline. Exports to the United States in February 2025 rose by 22.4 per cent year-on-year.
UK — Forestry has long sat at the margins of the insurance market, often folded into broader property portfolios and lightly scrutinised. That position is becoming harder to sustain. The class now requires a level of focus and expertise the market has not always applied, said Daniel Longden, head of forestry at Orvia Underwriting. The sector differs from traditional property risks in one fundamental way: it is constantly changing. Trees grow, are harvested and replanted, altering the risk profile year by year. That dynamic sits alongside an exposure to catastrophe events that can erase entire areas in a single incident. …This variability complicates underwriting and limits the development of standardised data sets, helping explain why the class has remained relatively niche despite growing investor interest. …Where underwriters once relied heavily on historical loss data and third-party reporting, satellite technology now offers a more direct view of exposure.
India is a strategic priority for New Zealand because of its growing global influence, economic scale, and regional importance. This is why New Zealand is building a broad, deep, and enduring strategic relationship with India. By 2030, India’s GDP is expected to reach around NZ$12 trillion, making it one of the world’s largest economies. India’s rapidly growing middle class is projected to soon reach 715 million – those consumers alone will be a larger market for New Zealand than the European Union or ASEAN. …The impact and value of the NZ-India FTA will grow over time – delivering greater market access through streamlined border processes and phased tariff cuts. …On forestry and timber – a major export to India – over 95% of our exports become tariff-free immediately at entry into force. Almost all other exports benefit from tariff elimination over seven years, providing a valuable market option for wood exporters.
Seven paper mills have closed in France since the beginning of 2024, raising concerns about a broader decline in the country’s paper and pulp industry. The warning comes from COPACEL, which highlighted the trend during its annual press conference. The industry group also pointed to a fragile outlook for several production sites entering 2026. Out of a total of 81 paper mills in France, seven have permanently ceased operations. According to COPACEL, the closures have significant consequences for employment, regional development and industrial sovereignty. France is already a net importer of pulp, paper and cardboard, increasing its reliance on foreign supply. At the same time, two packaging paper companies are undergoing court-led restructuring, while a group operating two large pulp mills is in conciliation proceedings. Several other companies are considered financially vulnerable. Meanwhile, French manufacturers face persistently high production costs linked to energy prices, taxation and administrative complexity.
VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber reported the first quarter results of 2026. First quarter sales were $1.334 billion, compared to $1.165 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter earnings were $(188) million, compared to earnings of $(751) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $(66) million compared to $(79) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Included in first quarter Adjusted EBITDA in the Lumber segment is ($114) million of duty adjustments related to prior periods compared to nil in the fourth quarter of 2025. …North America Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, and Europe Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $10 million. …Sean McLaren, West Fraser’s President and CEO said “Excluding the impact of prior year duty adjustments, we were pleased to see all of our core segments – lumber, NA EWP, and Europe EWP – report positive Adjusted EBITDA.” 
RUSS TAYLOR provided the latest quarterly report from the 
For the second consecutive month, a leading index reported an increase in North American containerboard pricing. Month-over-month containerboard prices rose $30 per ton in April, following March’s $40 per ton increase, according to monthly data released Friday in Fastmarkets RISI’s Pulp & Paper Week publication. When also taking into consideration the $20 per ton decrease the index reported in February, containerboard pricing has a year-to-date net increase of $50 per ton. …On the boxboard front, most prices remained relatively flat in April. Solid bleached sulfate remains in oversupply, although demand was flat to slightly improved. 
JAKARTA — The Industry Ministry is pushing for packaging diversification and the development of alternative materials to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers, particularly in the food and beverage sector, as global dynamics continue to drive up plastic prices …“We see the geopolitical situation in the Middle East as a catalyst to improve efficiency and accelerate innovation in more sustainable packaging alternatives,” said Putu Juli Ardika. In response, industry players have begun diversifying packaging materials, turning to paper, glass, metal and recycled plastics such as recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), according to the ministry. Putu noted that the shift reflects both cost considerations and a broader push toward sustainability. Furthermore, the ministry sees strong potential in paper-based packaging, supported by Indonesia’s well-established pulp and paper industry. Paper packaging is increasingly being adopted across the retail, food and beverage, e-commerce and logistics sectors.
Log cost inflation, tightening felling regulations, muted end-product demand and the disruption of Middle East & North Africa (MENA) export channels by the conflict in the Persian Gulf are combining to test the resilience of sawmills in Finland and Sweden, with the pressure being felt all the way to Central European timber yards. In September 2025, Finland and Sweden jointly wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, warning that both countries were on track to miss their binding EU forest carbon-sink targets. …Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said, that reducing felling volumes was “not a viable option” and that it would have “dire consequences” for Nordic economies.” This high-level lobbying by Norway and Sweden highlights the central tension now confronting the Nordic sawn timber industry: that a sector already struggling with elevated sawlog costs and sluggish end-user demand has found itself additionally squeezed from above by environmental regulation.
Sumitomo Forestry’s $4.5 billion Tri Pointe buyout was approved with more than 99% support, taking the combined Japanese-owned share of US single-family home construction from just 0.2 per cent in 2015 to close to 6 per cent in 2026. Sumitomo Forestry’s buyout of Tri Pointe Homes, one of California’s largest builders, was approved at a special meeting in Irvine, California, earlier this month, with the deal set to be completed by mid-year. The Tri Pointe transaction, first announced in February, is the largest US homebuilder acquisition by a Japanese forest-based conglomerate in history, and follows the same playbook Sumitomo has already run across Australia, where Japanese conglomerates wholly or partly own just under 30 per cent of the country’s top 20 housebuilders. …Tri Pointe gives the Tokyo-listed parent access to California and Nevada, the two major US growth states where Sumitomo… had no meaningful presence. 
As the world gets hotter and wildfires more intense, architects are turning back to trees for more than inspiration. Engineered materials like cross-laminated and glue-laminated timber, in which layers of wood are glued together, create beams that are tough and somewhat flexible, yet lightweight. They’re so strong, in fact, that designers are crafting wood structures that are 15, 20, even 25 stories high: In 2022, the 284-foot Ascent MKE Building opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, becoming the world’s tallest timber building. It’s exactly because the world is getting hotter that architects are pushing the limits of how tall they can build with “mass timber,” as it’s known in the field: As trees grow, they capture planet-warming carbon, which is then permanently incorporated into the edifice. To that end, last month crews completed a 10-story building in Vancouver, called the Hive, which is now North America’s tallest brace-framed, seismic-force-resisting (meaning it shrugs off earthquakes) timber structure. 
The loss of our forests is one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time. Forests are key to curbing carbon emissions and protecting the plants, animals and humans that call Earth home. However, we’re losing our forests at an alarming rate. Our new study shows we’ve lost roughly 300 million hectares over the past 11 years. However, it’s unclear how much of this forest has since been restored. Either way, we’re losing a significant amount of forest despite efforts to protect it through certification, protection and other conservation schemes. The European Union has introduced policies aimed at eliminating products and supply chains that contribute to forest loss. …Halting forest loss is also a major focus of international declarations, such as the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. …Protected areas may also help curb forest loss. …These two strategies should be reducing, or even stopping, forest loss. But they’re failing to do so at a global scale.
The Drax power plant in North Yorkshire received record subsidies of almost £1bn for burning trees to generate electricity in 2025, a climate thinktank has calculated. The company was paid £999m last year for generating about 4.5% of Great Britain’s electricity from its biomass plant, costing each household £13 a year, according to analysts at Ember. The power plant was able to claim £2.7m a day from energy bills in part by increasing its power generation by about 2% from the year before – but mostly due to the rising payouts from a legacy renewables support scheme. …The Guardian revealed last November that forestry experts believed the company was burning 250-year-old trees sourced from some of Canada’s oldest forests as recently as last summer. …The government has already halved the subsidies available to Drax. …Drax will have to switch to using woody biomass from 100% sustainable sources, up from the current level of 70%. 
LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO – Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s leading renewables investors, is ramping up efforts to slash CO₂ pollution at scale – inking a major US deal that will help remove up to 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. Octopus’s fund management team is set to invest $500 million in afforestation and reforestation projects in the US developed by public benefit and climate technology company Living Carbon. On top of that, Octopus has put nearly $13 million into Living Carbon’s fast-growing, cutting-edge carbon removal development business. …Across the US, roughly 130 million acres of land lie degraded and could be reforested. …The locations include old mining sites and worn-out farmland, transforming these spaces into CO₂-absorbing sinks that slash emissions and combat climate change. These projects will also have a host of additional benefits: restoring wildlife habitats, improving water quality, strengthening soils, and supporting local economies in rural communities.
Drax has extended its wood pellet shipping contract with Ultrabulk through March 2031, with a mechanism to reduce carbon emissions year on year from sea freight journeys, according to Drax. The agreement follows the first UK arrival of the M.V. Ultra Yorkshire, a Handymax carrier operated by Ultrabulk, which completed its first transatlantic voyage carrying over 29 thousand tonnes of biomass pellets from the Port of Greater Baton Rouge to the Port of Liverpool. The cargo is set for rail transport to Drax Power Station in Selby. …The company estimated the voyage produced around 90% less CO2 than standard maritime fuels such as VLSFO or ULSGO.
UK — Burning wood for power generation can be worse for the climate than burning gas, even when the resulting carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored, 
Finland’s economy has long been rooted in its forests—but in 2026, the sector sits at the intersection of energy transition, environmental regulation, and global market uncertainty. A glance at Finland’s real-time energy production reveals a system increasingly diversified across nuclear, hydro, and renewables. Yet beneath this transition lies a quieter but equally critical story: the evolving role of forestry in powering both industry and energy systems. Finland’s energy picture depends heavily on whether we look at electricity output or total primary energy consumption. …The broader energy balance tells a different story. When heat, fuels, and industrial energy are included, bioenergy remains Finland’s largest energy source, at roughly 135 TWh, ahead of nuclear energy at about 105 TWh. Oil remains significant at around 70 TWh, while hydro and wind contribute roughly 25 TWh and 20 TWh, respectively. This matters for forestry because forest-based energy remains central to Finland’s energy system, even as its role is slowly declining.
