Finnforest’s parent company Metsäliitto is threatening to pull the plug on a joint venture pulp mill project in Latvia.
The group’s representatives have told the Finnish press they are tired of Latvian politicians stalling on the scheme and that if a clear answer on the forest supply issue has not been given by this autumn they will pull out.
Metsäliitto and its Swedish partner, Södra Cell, have already sunk US$1.54m into the project, but Metsäliitto CEO Eric Lagerwall has made it clear there is no desire to put any more money into an uncertain proposal.
Initially it was planned that Latvia would contribute 150,000ha of forest to the project and grant felling rights in a further 350,000ha, but recently the Latvian authorities have said they would prefer to supply money rather than timber.
Meanwhile, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has said it is prepared to help the project move ahead.
