Total wood-based panel production in EPF countries recovered strongly in 2021 with nearly 10% growth, which is a better performance than real GDP in the EU-27 (+5.4%). This shows a clearly growing interest of the general public in nature-based solutions such as panels. All panel types contributed to this growth driven by a continued recovery in end-use sectors, especially in construction and furniture. This also allowed the output of all wood-based panels to surpass the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 for the whole year of 2021. However, caution is advised in terms of how 2022 might develop due to the current supply chain, geopolitical and inflationary challenges.
