May 13, 2011. /Lesprom Network/. The Finnish forest industry only managed to purchase less than one million cubic metres of wood from privately owned forests in April. This was down 15% from March, as the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) said in a press release received by Lesprom Network. The aggregate volume of purchases concluded in the early part of the year is just 3.7 million cubic metres, which is not enough to satisfy the industry's wood needs. Demand for wood is strong. The harvesting of felling sites purchased last year is running at normal volumes and these are, for now, providing sufficient quantities of wood to keep mills running. All timber grades are selling well, but sites that can be harvested in summer are in particular demand. The January-April aggregate purchase volume came to 3.7 million cubic metres, down almost a quarter from the corresponding period of 2010; this represents only about half of the long-term average purchase amount. Sawlog procurements came to 1.3 million cubic metres, which is almost a third less than in the corresponding period of the previous year. Pulpwood procurements came to 2.2 million cubic metres, down 18% from the corresponding period of 2010. Average softwood sawlog stumpage prices were up 3-4% from March and the average price of birch sawlogs increased 2%. On average, pine sawlogs fetched Euro 55 and spruce sawlogs Euro 56 per cubic metre, while the average price of birch sawlogs was Euro 42 per cubic metre. Pulpwood stumpage prices were up 4-5%. The average stumpage price of pine and birch pulpwood was Euro 16 per cubic metre, while spruce pulpwood fetched Euro 19 per cubic metre. Raw material procurement problems eroding the industry's operating prerequisites If domestic timber supply does not increase sufficiently, wood will have to be imported to keep mills running. The industry already needs to import birch pulpwood, for example, because it is not domestically available in sufficient quantities. January-March timber imports have grown slightly from the corresponding period of 2010.