Finland now ranks among the top five global exporters of softwood lumber. The Finnish Sawmills Industries association forecasts that production will increase significantly during 2016-2025.<\/p>\n
With resource efficiency and by\u00a0using high-tech systems, Finnish sawmills are able to use everything they take from the forests.\u00a0The Finnish Sawmill Industries,\u00a0an association that represents 35 private sawmills, is\u00a0responsible for 60% of \u00a0the Finland's\u00a0softwood production.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is more wood in our forest than ever. Wood is renewable. It is a great argument for its use these days,<\/em>\u201d CEO of the association, Kai Merivuori, says.<\/p>\n Finland is covered by forests on approximately 70% of its land (pine, 50%; spruce, 30%; birch, 16%). The country has an annual forest growth of 104 Mn cbm, and 60% of this resource is utilized for industries. Also, consumption can still be increased by another 15 Mn cbm.<\/p>\n Finland ranks among the top five exporters of softwood lumber, behind Canada Russia and Sweden. (Germany is in fifth place.) Although USA, Canada, Russia, China, Germany are the world\u2019s top five sawn wood producers, Merivuori estimates that his country\u2019s production is projected to go up between 2016 and 2025.<\/p>\n Eyes on the Chinese market<\/strong><\/p>\n Finland first exported wood to Japan in 1993. After that, Japan became a market that only bought wood products at European dimensions. As a result, all European companies are now producing wood according to Japanese specifications.<\/p>\n The annual export figures have recently stabilized at 1 million m3.<\/p>\n Five years ago, China wouldn't have made it to the top five list of importing countries, but now, the country is the third largest market for Finnish sawmills. In 2016, the main export countries were Egypt, Jpana, China, UK and France.<\/p>\n In 2010, exports to the Mainland reached 68,000 cbm, while in 2016 it amounted to 1 million m3. Now, this figure is expected to rise up to 1.5 million m3. Furthermore, sawn softwood exports to China increased by 20% year-on-year, during the Q1\/2017.<\/p>\n Overall, demand for softwood sawn lumber will increase globally, as well as the demand for renewable certified, sustainable wood.<\/p>\n Merivuori also added that, although demand from the Middle East is growing fast, there is also a lot of political instability in the region that hampers smooth development.<\/p>\n Other factors that would likely impede growth are: volatile exchange rates, logistics market, political instability, as well as the global availability and cost of raw material.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Finland now ranks among the top five global exporters of softwood lumber. The Finnish Sawmills Industries association forecasts that production will increase significantly during 2016-2025. With resource efficiency and by\u00a0using high-tech systems, Finnish sawmills are able to use everything they … Continue reading