world news - 02.02.2009
Reduced timber felling in Norway in 2008
According
to Mr Gudbrand Kvaal, managing director of the Norwegian Forest Owners'
Federation, these figures demonstrate that forest owners and their
co-operatives have adapted well to changing market conditions. During
2008, the market for saw timber experienced a continuous negative
development. However, the decreasing rate of exchange of the NOK has
improved the sales prospects of the wood working industry, which
exports most of its production. Thus, industry has been able to
maintain its purchases of Norwegian timber at acceptable prices. 
Statistics collected by the Norwegian Forest Owners' Federation show
that last year 8.1 million cubic metres of timber were felled for sales
on the domestic market. This is a reduction of circa 0.2 million cubic
metres, i.e. 2.5% as compared with 2007. There was also a notable
changeover from saw timber to pulpwood.
The Forest Owners' co-operatives handled around 77% of total timber
sales, i.e. 6.3 million cubic metres. Saw timber sales decreased by 8%,
whereas there was an increase of almost 6% in the sales of pulpwood.
This means that forest owners have concentrated their felling on
pulpwood stands and on thinnings.
Nevertheless, short-term economic prospects for forest owners have
deteriorated considerably. There are two main reasons; considerable
price reductions of saw timber and lower prices of pulpwood than for
saw timber. Furthermore, thinnings which are more labour intensive than
final fellings constitute an increasing part of total fellings, which
contributes to deteriorating financial results. Investing in thinnings
which improve the quality of the forest, proves that forest owners want
to make long term investments and have a strong confidence in the
future of forestry, says Mr Kvaal.
Preliminary figures indicate that spruce energy wood sales were
somewhat more than 245.000 cubic metres. This is a reduction of 20% in
relation to sales in 2007. The company Viken Skog alone operated about
65% of this volume.
See also:
- — Timber from Russian ship washes up on UK shores
- — European Union plan to hit illegal logging said unclear, costly
- — Industry unites behind WoodMac China 2009, the largest and longest running woodworking technology trade event in the country
- — Making poplar popular
- — Storms create crisis for French forestry
