Roundwood consumption turned into a decrease in 2022
According to the preliminary data of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), roundwood consumption in Finland totalled 78.7 million solid cubic metres in 2022, down by eight per cent from the previous year.
The majority of roundwood, meaning stemwood used directly after harvesting, is consumed as raw material in forest industry production. In 2022, the forest industry consumed 65.2 million cubic metres of roundwood, ten per cent less than in the previous year.
“Production volumes fell in the forest industry, and the consumption of roundwood decreased as a result of the economic trend, the lower production capacity and industrial action at the beginning of the year,” says Tuomas Niinistö, Senior Statistician at Luke.
The wood products industry processed 29.4 million cubic metres of logs and pulpwood, down by three per cent from the previous year. More than half of all roundwood – 35.8 million cubic metres – was consumed in the pulp industry as in previous years. However, the consumption of roundwood by the pulp industry decreased by 14 per cent in total.
"The roundwood consumption in the pulp industry was the lowest since 2009 and the financial crisis," Niinistö continues.
Consumption of imported roundwood fell to less than half in the forest industry
The forest industry consumed a total of 61.3 million cubic metres of domestic logs and pulpwood, showing a decrease of two per cent from the previous year. The consumption of imported roundwood fell steeply to 3.9 million cubic metres after the import of roundwood from Russia came to a stop, down by 60 per cent from the year before.
Imported chips and sawdust consumed in the pulp industry accounted for 1.2 million solid cubic metres of imported roundwood consumed in the forest industry.
Alongside roundwood, a total of 9.2 million cubic metres of domestic by-products, i.e. chips and sawdust, was consumed in forest industry production.
Imported roundwood replaced by domestic wood in energy generation
Roundwood consumption in energy generation increased by three per cent from the year before, totalling 13.4 million cubic metres. Of this volume, 7.0 million cubic metres were burned in heating and power plants as forest chips made from small-diameter trees and large-sized roundwood. The remaining amount was consumed as logwood, smallwood and forest chips in small-scale housing.
The volume of imported chips consumed at heating and power plants fell steeply, being 0.5 million cubic metres based on the difference between the total import of chips and the consumption of imported chips in the forest industry. This accounted for five per cent of the total consumption of forest chips by heating and power plants, or 10.2 million cubic metres. Still in 2021, the volume reached 1.9 million cubic metres, accounting for a fifth of the total consumption of forest chips at heating and power plants.
“The preliminary data indicates that Russian forest chips consumed at heating and power plants were especially replaced by domestic wood, as the consumption of forest chips even increased slightly from the previous year, regardless of the end of imports,” says Niinistö.
In total, heating and power plants consumed 22.9 million cubic metres of solid wood fuels – forest chips, by-products, recycled wood and pellets. Consumption decreased by five per cent, especially as a result of the lower need for heat generation.
Information about the statistics
Roundwood means logs and pulpwood, small-sized trees and large-sized stemwood consumed in energy generation, as well as imported chips and sawdust consumed in the forest industry.
The statistics on roundwood consumption cover annual data on the consumption of roundwood and solid by-products and residues in Finland. The data on roundwood consumption in the forest industry is final. Instead, the data on total roundwood consumption, the use of wood as energy, and foreign trade is preliminary and will be specified in autumn 2023.
