24 April 2015, HD FestForest news - Wood consumption remained at stable level in Finland last year, new statistics have revealed. According to the Natural Resources Institute of Finland, the nation's forestry industry consumed a total of 63.9 million cubic metres of wood in 2014. This is unchanged when compared to the year before, but is up by six per cent on the five-year average, suggesting demand is at a healthy level.

Timber accounted for the vast majority of this wood consumption, although some 9.2 million cubic metres of sawdust and wood chips were also used by Finnish forestry companies last year, IHB reports.

Pulp production accounted for the greatest share of raw wood use. Some 29.5 million cubic metres was used for this purpose, which represents a slight fall of three per cent compared to the year before. Sawing accounted for the next greatest share, rising by four per cent to 23.6 million.

In terms of where Finland's wood came from, 55 million cubic metres of the resource was domestically sourced, representing growth of two per cent. Imported wood consumption was 11 per cent lower at 8.9 million cubic metres.

The most wood was used in the south-east of Finland, with the region accounting for close to a third of the total, although a third of this was imported. South-western Finland had the second highest consumption level.

These figures follow on from statistics that revealed Finnish roundwood prices were largely stable in March. On a monthly basis, the most notable changes were in pine pulpwood, which was up 1.27 per cent. Meanwhile, spruce prices dropped by 2.68 per cent. Year on year, birch was the best performer with a rise of 1.89 per cent, while pine prices suffered the biggest drop, with a fall of 4.56 per cent.

According to figures reported by Fordaq, roundwood imports have remained steady in Finland  an increase in use of the resource is anticipated in 2015 - the rise is expected to be somewhere between one and three per cent. Commercial roundwood removals (five to seven per cent) and roundwood trade in private forests (one to three per cent) are both forecast to experience growth too.

The nominal price for roundwood is predicted to increase by between one and three per cent, while a rise of up to two per cent is forecast for fibre. In terms of gross stumpage earnings in private forests, growth of between five and seven per cent is expected.

Source: http://www.hdfestforest.com/News-archive.10028.aspx?recordid10028=801785000