Report: New Zealand is supplying the world's softwood logs

A new report from Wood Resource Quarterly, a 52-page market report on the timber and forest industry, has found that New Zealand is responsible for over 20% of the world's softwood log trade.

By comparison, Russia and the U.S. rank second and third, respectively, as global log suppliers, contributing about 15% of the world's log trade each.

According to the report, New Zealand exported 57% of its own timber harvest in 2013. Additionally, the value of the trade has tripled in the last five years. However, domestic log consumption has remained relatively unchanged over the past decade.

China is among its biggest customers (and largely takes credit for the sudden boom in exports), though South Korea, India and Japan are major players as well. In 2013, 72% of New Zealand's total export volume went to China.