Softwood sawlogs see nearly 3% increase; pulpwood prices jump over 4%.
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
The cumulative harvest for January and February decreased 3% from the previous year but aligning with the five-year average.
In standing sales, prices for industrial wood in Finland continued to rise in February. Average prices for pulpwood rose by 3-5% by species, while prices for logs rose by up to 2%.
Finland's heating and power plants consumed a total of 22.4 million solid cubic metres (43.9 terawatt hours) of solid wood fuels in 2023, showing a decrease of 2% from the previous year.
Imports of wood increased by 5% compared to the monthly average for the year 2022. The most important source of imported wood in December 2023 was Estonia (42%).
Denominated in Euro, earnings increased by Euro 0.1 billion from the previous year and were the highest ever in Euro terms.
Finland's wood trade picked up in January 2024. The volume of industrial timber purchases was 7% higher than a year earlier and exceeded the average for January of the previous five years by 3%. Compared to the previous five years, trade in logs increased by 7%, driven by pine logs.
Roundwood removals decreased last year, totalling 69 million cubic metres. Log removals decreased by 9% and pulpwood removals by 8%.
The volume of energywood traded in 2023 increased by a quarter compared to previous years.
Conifer log prices rose by around 1% compared to November, and pulpwood prices increased by between two and five percent, varying by trade and species.
The removal volume was down 7% from the five-year average.
In standing sales, average log prices rose by 1% from October, while pulpwood prices remained unchanged. In delivery sales, pulpwood prices rose slightly.