Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) members procured 33.4 million cubic metres of timber from private forests in 2013, according to figures published by the organisation. Source: HD FestForest
This total is 10% higher than the average volume recorded over the past 10 years and comes at a time when wood stumpage prices increased year-on-year and the high cost of roundwood cast doubts on the country’s ability to compete on the international market.
The positive performance seen throughout 2013 was influenced by a strong start to the year, with transaction volumes in the early months higher than those recorded in previous years.
Heading into the summer, the pace quickened, with peak sales occurring in May.
The summer holiday season was quieter than anticipated, but there was a further boost to the figures in autumn and this sustained above-average results throughout the rest of the year.
The momentum built throughout 2013 was such that the storms experienced in December were not enough to derail the progress and had little impact on timber trade volumes.
For the full year, timber sales were 18% higher than those recorded in 2012.
Log procurement was up by just over a quarter (26%) and pulpwood volumes were 12% higher year-on-year.
In terms of overall procurements by FFIF member companies, these totalled 15.1 million cubic metres of log and 17.1 million cubic metres of pulpwood.
Stumpage prices for softwood logs were up by between 3-4% on average, while birch log prices declined by 1%.
Spruce pulpwood prices were unchanged from 2012, while pine and birch pulpwood was 1-2% higher.
Over the course of the year, delivery contracts totalled five million cubic metres, which represented 15% of overall timber sales, down from 18% in 2012.
Around three-quarters of the delivery procurement contracts concerned pulpwood. In such instances, forestry operators deliver the product to the side of the road.
According to the FFIF’s forests director Tomi Salo, the country cannot afford to make the most of its forests without structural reforms.
“The problem is that a great deal of Finland’s forest is not in the sphere of market activity and forests are left unmanaged.
“The short supply keeps costs high, weakens investment conditions that are based on domestic wood, and does not support the growth of the national economy,” he said.
HD FestForest provides forest management in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and is a subsidiary company of HedeDanmark.
