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Logwood and smallwood sales increased by a quarter in 2022

News 23.3.2023

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) looked into logwood and smallwood sales in 2021 and 2022. A survey aimed at fuelwood merchants revealed that sales increased by 26% between these years. The main part of fuelwood sold consisted of smallwood of which more than 80% was made from hardwood.

The growth of logwood and smallwood commerce has been on the news a lot lately. The end of Russian energy imports has raised interest in heating with wood.

"To many detached house residents, wood is an additional heating method that increases particularly due to rising electricity prices", says Tuomas Niinistö, senior statistician at Luke.

The sales numbers were collected from several logwood and smallwood merchants

According to previous studies, the main part of fuelwood used was prepared by the users themselves, and the wood came from their own forests, sometimes yard trees. Purchased wood only covered less than a quarter of all wood burned. The purpose of the logwood and smallwood sales survey was to clarify whether the rise in energy prices increased the use of purchased wood. It was assumed that the change in energy prices would be reflected clearly in the quantities of purchased fuelwood.

“However, fuelwood sales numbers only indicate preparation for heating with wood. When the price of electricity drops, some of the purchased wood may be left in the barn”, notes Niinistö.

The exact number of logwood and smallwood merchants is not known, but the survey was intended to reach as many as possible. The email survey was sent out in February 2023 to a total of 268 logwood and smallwood merchants, and the material was supplemented with phone interviews. The respondents were asked about the sales volumes of logwood and smallwood in 2021 and 2022. 78% of these merchants participated in the survey.

The rise in energy prices increased sales of logwood and smallwood by 26 percent

The fuelwood merchants that participated in the survey sold 54,000 solid cubic metres of logwood and smallwood in 2022. During the previous year, sales amounted to just 43,000 solid cubic metres, which means an increase of 26% between the two years.

In 2021, 189 of the respondents had sold fuelwood. In 2022, there were 198 respondents. Logwood and smallwood sales increased proportionately more for larger merchants.

In 2022, 98% of sales consisted of smallwood. Logwood sales amounted to less than one thousand cubic metres. The shares of logwood and smallwood were the same in both years.

"Several respondents mentioned that there was a demand for larger quantities, but they ran out of fuelwood. They were not prepared for such a big increase in demand. Before selling the finished product, raw wood must first be logged or purchased, dried and chopped", says Niinistö.

However, some respondents mentioned that the demand quieted down in the beginning of 2023 due to the drop in electricity prices.

Photo: Erkki Oksanen

Most often, hardwood is burned in fireplaces

The survey gathered information about the share of hardwood in fuelwood sold. According to the study, more than 80% of logwood and smallwood was hardwood in both years.

The demand for fuelwood from softwood turned out to be low, and most heaters only wanted to burn birch.

Fuelwood merchants mostly produce the wood sold from materials obtained from their own forests. The share of logwood and smallwood material purchased from the market was less than one fifth. The use of purchased wood material is limited by price, which several respondents mentioned had increased considerably during 2022.

Additional information about the survey

Luke has created statistics on the amount of fuelwood consumed in small-scale housing through an extensive sample study every 10 years. The amount of small-scale use of wood is now being updated in cooperation with Statistics Finland, and the preliminary data will be published during spring 2023. A new sample study will not be conducted for now, and other methods will be used to update the information.

Luke’s Statistical Services conducted the study on fuelwood sales as part of updating consumption amounts in small-scale burning of wood. The survey is not a permanent part of statistics created by Luke, and its results are not published separately on Luke’s statistics pages.