Denmark\u2019s hardwood market is approaching a supply squeeze that has little to do with the usual timber cycle. Commercial harvesting is coming to an end across around 70,000 hectares of state forest, permanently taking part of the country\u2019s mature hardwood resource out of the market.<\/p>\n
The change is the result of Denmark\u2019s ur\u00f8rt skov programme, under which state forests are transferred to non-intervention management. The process started in 2020 and hardwood forests have a six-year transition period. This means that the remaining fellings in many hardwood stands should largely disappear by late 2026 or early 2027.<\/p>\n
Logs have continued to reach the market during the conversion period as trees were removed as part of restoration work. These volumes can give the impression that supply remains available, but they are transitional rather than recurring. Once the conversion period expires, commercial harvesting ends.<\/p>\n
The Danish industry has already warned that domestic wood is becoming scarce. The removal of state forests from production now puts more pressure on the part of the resource that remains commercially accessible, particularly private forests.<\/p>\n
This is likely to sharpen competition for hardwood sawlogs. Mills cannot respond to a shortage simply by bidding more aggressively for state timber, because those forests are leaving the market regardless of price. Buyers will instead have to secure additional volumes from private owners or look abroad.<\/p>\n
Imports therefore stand to gain importance, particularly if private harvesting does not increase enough to compensate for the lost state volumes. For Danish processors, that means competing for logs with buyers elsewhere in northern and central Europe and accepting a larger freight component in raw-material costs.<\/p>\n
The supply issue could become more pronounced for higher-quality and larger-diameter hardwood logs, where mills have fewer alternatives. Lower grades can be substituted more easily; specific sawlog qualities cannot.<\/p>\n
The withdrawal also comes alongside plans to reduce harvesting in the state forests that remain under production. Danish wood industry representatives have warned that the combination of protected forest areas and lower state harvesting risks leaving domestic processors short of raw material.<\/p>\n
Unlike a weak harvesting season, this supply will not return when prices improve. Denmark is permanently reducing the area of state forest available to the timber market. For hardwood mills, the adjustment will increasingly be made through higher competition for private logs, more imports \u2014 or less production.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Denmark\u2019s hardwood market is approaching a supply squeeze that has little to do with the usual timber cycle. Commercial harvesting is coming to an end across around 70,000 hectares of state forest, permanently taking part of the country\u2019s mature hardwood … Continue reading