Volumes and prices in roundwood trade, 4/2022

Average prices of all types of industrial roundwood rose in April. However, the total volume of trade was only three-fifths of the average of the previous five years.

• In April, an average of EUR 67.3 per cubic metre was paid for spruce logs in standing sales. It exceeded the real average price in March by two per cent. The average price of pine logs increased also by two per cent to EUR 63.2. The real price level of logs was two per cent lower than during the whole previous year in standing sales.
• The standing sale price was EUR 20.4 per cubic metre for spruce pulpwood, EUR 18.3 for pine pulpwood and 17.8 for birch pulpwood. The price of spruce pulpwood rose one per cent from March, while pine and birch went up by two per cent. However, the real price level of pulpwood was five per cent lower than the average price of last year as a whole.
• The average roadside price of pine pulpwood increased by three per cent from the previous month to EUR 33.2. The average price of spruce rose by two per cent to EUR 34.5 and that of birch by four per cent to EUR 33.7.
• In April, 44 per cent less industrial roundwood was purchased than a year before and two-fifths less than the average for the previous five years.
• The timber trade in January – April was 26 per cent lower than a year ago and a quarter lower than in the previous five years. Compared to the previous five years, the trade in logs diminished by 24 per cent and the trade in pulpwood by 28 per cent.

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. Before February 2022, the wholesale price index was used in this calculation.

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.

Wood trade data for statistics are provided by the largest buyers of wood and forest management associations. As the information is not rounded up to correspond to the total non-industrial private wood trade in Finland, the published wood volumes only represent about 90 per cent of the wood purchased by forest industries from non-industrial private forests.