Apr 01, 2004. /Lesprom Network/. Profits for the world's forest-products industry rose last year even though European and Canadian producers struggled against unfavorable foreign-exchange rates, according to a survey released on Wednesday. The 100 largest publicly traded lumber and paper firms recorded a total net profit of an estimated $6.1 billion in 2003, up from $4.9 billion a year earlier, according to the study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Canadian dollar's rise in value against the U.S. dollar last year took an estimated C$4 billion bite out of the revenues of Canadian producers, according to the survey, released at an industry conference in Vancouver. The survey said the euro's rise against the U.S. dollar also hurt European producers. If that rise continues, the impact on the industry could grow as lumber producers such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania join the European Union. The global industry's return on capital employed was 3.9% last year, down from 4.3% in 2002, and well below the generally accepted minimum return of between 10 and 12%, the accounting firm warned in its report.