In 2016, Finnish forest industries consumed a total of 67.4 million cubic metres of roundwood, 4% more than a year earlier and 7% above the average over the previous five-year period. The consumption of forest industry by-products, mainly sawmill chips and dust, amounted to 9.3 million cubic metres, as Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
The forest industries consumed the same amount of imported roundwood as a year earlier, 8.5 million cubic metres in total.
The use of roundwood increased over the previous year in both the wood-products industries and pulp industries. Of the branches of industry, the chemical pulp industry consumed the highest quantity of roundwood, 31.7 million cubic metres (+5% year-on-year). The quantity of domestic roundwood used by the chemical pulp industry, 24.5 million cubic metres, was the highest on record so far.
The sawmilling industry consumed 25.4 million cubic metres (+6%) of roundwood. Of the entire roundwood assortment, pine pulpwood (16.3 million cubic metres) and spruce logs (14.1 million cubic metres) accounted for most of the consumption.
One fifth of roundwood, or 13.3 million cubic metres, were processed in the region of South Karelia. The second and third highest amounts of roundwood were consumed in the regions of Kymenlaakso (7.6 million cubic metres) and Lapland (5.6 million cubic metres).
