While there are 400,000 family-owned holdings suitable for forestry in Finland, only 1,500 of more than 10ha and 3,000 of more than 2ha in size change hands each year, with large estates of 50ha and above rarely coming on to the market, according to Simo Hannelius, who led the study.
Mr Hannelius has said that the lack of Finnish forests available to purchase on the open market is becauase they are “not regarded as just an investment” and can have historical and emotional ties for their owners.
“It says something about how [forests] are appreciated that large, well-managed forest holdings… are very rarely sold on the open market,” said Mr Hannelius. “This only happens when there is no one in the family to carry on.”
The research also found that most of the forest land bought in Finland is acquired by those already operating in the sector who hoped to increase their income by selling more timber.
