Storm Per, also called Hurricane Kyrill, came just as the country was set to focus on a spruce bark beetle problem which has “exploded” following the damage caused by Hurricane Gudrun two years ago.
“We have to increase our harvesting capacity by approximately 50% and we do not have the capacity in the region,” said Stefan Wirten, forests spokesperson at the Swedish Forest Industries Federation.
“Our plan was to be 100% focused on the insect problem in the spring of 2007. We were just about to go into that when the new storm hit us and we have 12 million m3 of new timber to take care of. That, of course, makes the job even greater.”
Mr Wirten said the storm, whose effects were lesser and more spread out than Gudrun, had not affected timber prices yet. “But we do not kow what the final effects will be,” he added,
Forestry group Södra reported about 6 million m3 of wood blown down on its members’ lands – roughly the same as the volume of trees felled by Södra in six months. But the group said lumber prices would remain unchanged, as would requirements for timber quality and freshness.
Across Europe, Hurricane Kyrill felled almost 54 million m3 of forest stocks, about 12% of the annual harvest, according to the European State Forestry Association (EUSTAFOR).
