Forestry as an investment 2023 (provisional)

In 2023, the real return on investment in private forest wood production was 10%, according to preliminary data. Compared to the previous year, the yield rose by 5 percentage points, and was the same as the average for the previous five years.

• Timber sales revenue accounted for +3.2 percentage points of return, timber production subsidies +0.1 and the value of net increment +1.3 percentage points. The increase in standing prices contribution to return was +6.0 percentage points. The impact of the total cost of wood production on return was -0.4 percentage points.
• The regional returns to wood production in mainland Finland were between 9% and 12%.
• The change in standing sales prices increased returns in all provinces, i.e. the increase in prices paid for the timber was greater than the decrease in the value of money.
• According to preliminary data, the effect of net increment on return was negative only in Kanta-Häme, where the value of the increment was lower than the value of the harvested stock.
• In the return calculation, income, costs and the value of net increment are related to the stumpage value calculated on the basis of the volume of standing timber and stumpage prices. It was EUR 66 billion in 2022, rising to EUR 71 billion in 2023.
• The nominal values have been converted into real values using the cost-of-living index.
• Data from 2021–2023 is preliminary. 

Information about the statistics
The return on assets in wood production is an index of returns calculated based on fellings, standing sale prices, state subsidies for wood production, wood production costs and stand data. The calculation relates income and costs to the stumpage value of the stand, calculated based on the volume of trees and standing sale prices.

The data are based on Luke statistics and the National Forest Inventory (NFI) on forest land for wood production. For the 2020–2023 stand calculations, the results of the 2018–2022 NFI measurements were used. In the statistics, the last two years are preliminary data, as the new inventory data are used to refine the stand data in the calculation.
The change in monetary value has been made using the Cost of living index. In 2023, the average inflation rate was around 6%.