About one-half of the world's tropical forests are located in South America (Figure 3), with much of this in Brazil. These forests are almost totally hardwood and recent developments and trends translate to a likelihood of more tropical hardwood entering world markets in the relatively near term. This is discussed in a later chapter of this report.

 
Percentage of Tropical Forest Area by Region, 2003

 

 

The vast majority of roundwood production globally occurs in the developed countries, with the United States, Canada, and Western Europe accounting for over 60 percent of this production (Figure 4) despite the fact that these countries account for only one-fifth of the world's forests. The tropical regions (namely Asia, Africa, and South America) currently account for only about one-third of industrial roundwood production, but over 80 percent of the fuelwood harvest.

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