Last year the World Economic Forum named Finland as the most sustainable country in the world; this year it identified it as the most competitive and least corrupt country.
These are significant accolades when Finland is home to some of the biggest forest products companies in the world: in 2001 the forest products industry accounted for 26% of Finland’s export revenue.
During the second quarter of this year economic growth in Finland’s main markets proved weaker than expected and demand for wood products remained low.
Nevertheless, according to the latest report to the ECE Timber Committee, by the end of August sawn timber production had risen 1.4% on the previous year, with redwood production rising and whitewood production falling.
On average, after the first half of the year, the operating income of the sawmill sector was negative, largely because of the gap between raw material and sawn timber prices. Total production for the year is expected to be around 12.9 million m3 and a preliminary forecast suggests the same figure for next year.
During the six months to June exports of sawn goods were down by 1.2%, with 2.8 million m3 going to Europe and 1.4 million m3 outside Europe. The UK remains Finland’s biggest single export market.
Sales of value-added goods to countries outside Europe, especially Japan and the US, are increasingly important and Finland’s sawmilling sector has continued to invest in value-added capacity. Production and export of planed timber and other value-added goods have grown faster than those of sawn goods: during January to June, exports of value-added goods rose by 7.5%, whereas exports of rough sawn goods fell by 2.4%.
In 2001 plywood production fell by 3% and, although in the second quarter it reached 325,000m3 – a record for any single quarter – the report says that production will barely exceed last year’s level. The market for birch plywood has deteriorated in the face of growing capacity from eastern Europe but softwood plywood has improved as a result of growing capacity.
Around 95%, or 22 million ha, of Finnish forests are certified under the Finnish Forest Certification System. The scheme is endorsed by the Pan European Certification Council and the Dutch Keurhout Foundation.
