Forests that position Brazil on the global furniture map

The idea has moved beyond a magazine and become a platform for positioning Brazil. Few assets explain that ambition is better than the renewable forest base that supports the country’s furniture, wood panel and design industries.

In 2024, Brazil’s planted-tree sector grew by 10.4%, far outpacing national GDP growth of 3.4%. The result reinforces a rare structural advantage on the global stage: production scale combined with certified sustainability and industrial integration – from forest to finished furniture.

“Renewable forests, industrial panels and solid wood underpin the competitiveness of Brazilian design.”

This foundation allows Brazil to compete in increasingly demanding international markets, where design, material origin and environmental responsibility increasingly go hand in hand.

The invisible foundation of Brazilian furniture

Brazil ended 2024 with 10.52 million hectares of planted forests, most of them established on previously degraded land. This is a modern, highly productive form of forestry aligned with the low-carbon agenda.

These plantations are concentrated in states that are also major centres for furniture and wood panel production – including Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul – creating an integrated ecosystem linking forests, industry and export clusters.

Eucalyptus, the main raw material for industrial wood panels, covers 8.1 million hectares, while pine, with 1.9 million hectares, is essential for sawn timber and structural components, particularly in southern Brazil.

Wood panels: scale, technology and competitiveness

Brazilian wood panel production reached a record 9.7 million m³ in 2024, up 19% from the previous year. Exports rose 38%, reinforcing Brazil’s role as a global supplier of inputs for contemporary furniture.

MDF accounted for 64% of domestic sales, followed by MDP at 36%. This performance placed Brazil eighth worldwide in reconstituted wood panel production, giving the furniture industry access to reliable supply, standardisation, surface innovation and competitive costs.

Solid wood and added value

In sawn timber, Brazil maintains production close to 8 million m³, ranking ninth globally. The segment supplies everything from structural components to higher-value furniture lines, where the aesthetics of natural wood and traceability are increasingly important in premium markets.

Sustainability as an international passport

More than a reputational advantage, sustainability is an economic asset. Between 2020 and 2024, the total certified area of planted forests grew by 57%, reaching 10.7 million hectares.

Brazil currently ranks fourth worldwide in FSC-certified area and eleventh in PEFC, while ESG requirements continue to advance throughout the supply chain – an increasingly decisive condition for access to the world’s leading furniture consumer markets.

A structural advantage that is difficult to replicate

By integrating renewable forests, wood panel manufacturing, solid wood, certification and production scale, Brazil has built a foundation that few countries can reproduce. This structure supports not only volume, but also design, innovation and international credibility.

It is on this foundation that Brazil Furniture & Design is built not to showcase isolated products, but to reveal to the world why Brazil has the conditions to occupy a strategic place on the global map of contemporary furniture and design.

KEY FIGURES – 2024

• Planted-tree sector growth: 10.4%
• Planted forests: 10.52 million ha
• Wood panel production: 9.7 million m³
• Certified area: 10.7 million ha
• Global ranking in wood panels: 8th