In Finland, March witnessed a significant uptick in timber prices, reported by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). The prices for sawlogs, including those of spruce and pine, rose by up to 3%, while pulpwood experienced a sharper increase of 4% to 6%, varying by species.

The prices for softwood sawlogs in standing sales escalated by nearly three percent from February. Spruce sawlogs fetched an average price of Euro 75.1 per m3, and pine sawlogs slightly less at Euro 72.1 per m3. These figures represent a slight dip compared to last year's averages, with birch sawlogs priced at Euro 62.0 per m3, a modest increase of 1% from the previous month.

Pulpwood also showed significant price gains in standing sales, with spruce fetching an average price of Euro 30.1 per m3 and birch and pine around Euro 28 per m3. These prices climbed by 4% to 6% from February and were 8% to 11% higher than the previous year's averages.

The volume of timber sold in the first quarter dropped by 8% year-over-year but remained 3% above the average of the past five years. Industrial roundwood trade from private forests in March fell by 25% compared to the same month last year and was 4% below the five-year average.

Overall, from January to March, the total volume of roundwood harvested amounted to 18.1 million m3, marking a 3% decrease from the previous year and slightly lower than the five-year average for these months. Specifically, the removals of sawlogs were 2.6 million m3 and pulpwood 3.8 million m3, with a 5% annual decline in roundwood removals from private forests.

Source: Luke