In June 2023, Finland faced a significant decline in the forest industry exports. The total export value of forest industry products amounted to Euro 0.97 billion, marking a 16% decrease in real terms compared to the average monthly export value in 2022. The volume of wood imports in June also witnessed a nearly 25% decrease compared to the average volume of the previous year, reaching 0.35 million m3. Luke, the Natural Resources Institute Finland, reported this.
Pulpwood accounted for 74% of the imports, while chips represented 15%, logs constituted 2%, fuelwood made up 6%, and the remaining 3% made up various wood by-products.
During the first half of 2023, there was a notable 7% increase in the volume of wood imports compared to the previous year, amounting to 2.90 million m3. However, most of the other roundwood assortments import volumes were lower, except for pulpwood, which saw a remarkable increase of 42%. By the end of June, Finland had imported a total of 507 thousand m3 of pine pulpwood, which represented an increase of over 300 thousand m3 compared to the first half of the previous year. The volume of imported fuelwood also witnessed significant growth, rising from 30 thousand m3 in January-June 2022 to 264 thousand m3 by the end of June 2023.
In the first half of 2023, the export value of forest industry products in Finland amounted to Euro 6.28 billion. This export composition comprised paperboard (26%), pulp (23%), paper (20%), sawn goods (16%) and plywood (5%).
During the same period, the wood-products industry faced challenges, with export values and volumes declining. The volume of exports of sawn goods remained almost unchanged, but their value decreased by one-third due to falling export prices. Plywood exports declined by 17%, but the impact on value was mitigated somewhat by rising prices, resulting in only a 5% drop. However, the pulp and paper industries experienced positive growth, with a 4% increase in export value. Exports of bleached sulphate pulp surged by more than a third, with the export value following a similar upward trend. Higher export prices for magazine paper and fine paper compared to the first half of the previous year contributed to an increase in the export value, although the export volume remained relatively stable. Notably, the export volume and value of paperboard lagged, registering a one-fifth decrease compared to the previous year.
