Trade of energywood, 1st quarter 2024

Trade in energywood was brisk in the first quarter of the year. In standing sales, average prices of pruned stems rose by 2%, while roadside prices remained at the level of the end of last year. In standing sales of logging residues, prices fell by 4%. 

Prices

• Two-fifths of the energywood trade was pruned stems, and the average price paid for it in standing sales was EUR 22.1 per cubic metre. The price was 2% higher in real terms than at the end of last year and 15% higher than the average price for the whole of last year.
• In delivery sales the mean roadside of pruned stems remained at the previous quarter's level of EUR 47.3.
• Logging residues accounted for almost half of the energywood trade. The average price paid logging residues was EUR 7.0 per cubic metre in standing sales. This was 4% less than in the previous quarter and the average for the whole of last year.
• In delivery sales, the price rose by 11% from the end of last year to EUR 29.9 per cubic metre.

Trade volumes

• A total of 1.2 million cubic metres of energywood trade was recorded in the first quarter of the year. This was the highest volume during the first quarter in the statistical history since 2014 and three-fifths more than the average for the previous five years. 
• Compared to the previous five years, the trade in logging residues increased by almost three-fifths and the trade in pruned stems increased by almost half.

The data collection of the statistics has been extended during early 2024, so the data and changes in 2024/1 are not fully comparable with earlier data. New data suppliers accounted for about 5% of all energywood recorded during this period.

Background information on the statistics

Unit prices in roundwood trade are recorded in the statistical database at the fair prices valid each time. However, price changes are examined in the texts and graphs in real terms by eliminating the change in value using the cost-of-living index (1951:10=100). In the first quarter of 2024, the annual increase in consumer prices was around three per cent. 

The recorded prices are based on prices entered in wood trade agreements between the buyers and sellers. Any other increments and services related to wood trade are not included in the statistics. The prices do not include government subsidies. 

The information is not rounded up to correspond to the total non-industrial private wood trade in Finland. This means that the published wood volumes represent only just over half of the energywood purchased from non-industrial private forests.