Sawn softwood output was up 1.9% to 101.1 million m3, thanks to growth in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
But members meeting at the EOS AGM in Prague on June 9 heard that production would most likely stagnate during 2006, with only 0.6% growth expected.
Softwood consumption retracted from 2004 levels to 67.2 million m3, with significant drops in Finland and Russia.
On the hardwood front, production grew by 3.8% to 8.9 million m3 following several years of decline. Romania and Russia were credited with the positive development and further growth of about 2.4% is expected during 2006.
Meanwhile, EOS members are still having to cope with major price increases for raw materials, energy and transport – a situation which the EOS believes could last some time.
