Forest 500

Countries making up the European Economic Area (EEA) collectively represent the largest importer of forest risk commodities from tropical regions globally, responsible for over 22% of total imports between 2007 and 2012. The EEA unites the European Union member states and the European Free Trade Association countries of Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland, and for the purpose of this research also includes Switzerland, which although isn't officially in the EEA, has bilateral partnerships with the EU. The EEA has been considered as a block, due to the ease and frequency with which products are moved between European countries. Within the EEA, several countries play particularly important roles, with key importers being the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Germany. However, it is important to note that the significant role these four countries play in European imports is predominantly due to their locations and the size of their sea ports and, as mentioned above, due to trade patterns within Europe, forest risk commodities tend not to be consumed within these countries at the same percentages at which they are imported.

The European Economic Area plays a key role in the global palm oil industry. As the dominant imported vegetable oil - with imports totalling 5 million tonnes in 2012 - palm oil is used for food production, in the manufacture of personal care items and cosmetics, and in the oleo-chemical industry. The introduction of biofuel subsidies has also led to palm oil being used in biodiesel, which accounted for 80% of Europe's total increase in palm oil consumption between 2006 and 2012. The majority of palm oil is imported by the Netherlands, mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia. As demand increases, Europe is likely to increase imports from Sub-Saharan Africa also; the new frontier for palm oil production. Europe also imports large quantities of soya and soya products, largely from Brazil and Paraguay. Over half of the soya exported by tropical forest countries is destined for countries in the EEA, mainly for use in livestock feed.

The region is also key in the tropical timber trade. It is the largest importer of tropical sawn wood and tropical veneer, and the second largest importer of tropical plywood. The majority of this is used by the construction industry, although since 2008-2009, tropical timber imports in general have been in decline. The region also imports large amounts of secondary processed wood products (SPWPs), mainly in the form of outdoor furniture from Vietnam, China, Thailand and Indonesia.

Finally, the EEA plays an important role in the trade in beef and leather products from tropical forest countries. It is the second largest importer of all beef products, mainly in the form of bovine meat, with the majority of imports coming into Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, and is also one of the largest importers of leather hides. Although most imports come into Italy for processing into designer brand products, there is also an increasing levels of imports of finished leather products, including from China and India.