People working at Kirti Nagar Timber Market in Delhi. India is one of the world’s top producers of tropical logs and largest consumers of wood products. Photo: Vikas Choudhary/CSE
Forests

The specifics of India’s timber trade

Increasing demand for timber in India has opened the way for its illegal trade; meeting domestic timber demand is still a distant dream

Vikas Choudhary

India is a large growing timber market. But it faces a unique dichotomy. The country is one of the world’s top producers of tropical logs. But it is also one of the world’s largest consumers of wood products.

India finds it difficult to meet its domestic demand for wood products with domestic supply.

India cannot meet its own demand for wood products with domestic supply and hence is one of the topmost importing countries of tropical woods, according to the Timber Trade Portal.

Then there are challenges to the timber sector in India due to illegal logging and supply chain issues.

The timber sector in India faces challenges from illegal logging and supply chain issues, necessitating robust legality frameworks for legal trade.