13.08.2024, Moscow.
A crisis stemming from the ban on raw material supplies from the Russian Federation has begun in Finland,RIA Novosti wrote on August 13.
Lumber production has sharply decreased, businesses are closing, and prices are skyrocketing. These are the consequences of Finland’s decision to stop using Russian timber. The felling of local forests and imports from other countries have not mitigated the situation.
According to correspondent Natalia Dembinskaya, log prices in Finland have risen to a 15-year high. As a result, the raw material and the finished product – lumber – are now almost equally priced. The Finnish Sawmills Association is alarmed: production has dropped from 12 million cubic meters to ten.
Experts predict a severe shortage. Jakob Donner-Amnell from the University of Eastern Finland forecasts a prolonged period of high prices. According to him, “there may not be enough timber for everyone.”
The EU introduced this embargo in 2022 as part of the fifth package of anti-Russian sanctions. Previously, Russia was the second-largest supplier after China.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, timber exports to currently unfriendly countries amounted to €504 million in 2021, with €374.5 million going to Finland.
Local industry organizations in Finland warned back in 2022 that they would have to cut down their own forests. It would seem there are resources available. According to the Finnish Natural Resources Institute, forests cover 77% of the country’s territory. This is half a percent of the world’s timber reserves, the largest in Europe.
However, the EU’s carbon absorption commitments hinder overall logging. Forests grow slowly, making it unlikely that they will recover to previous levels, according to media reports.
Imports from other countries are very expensive, the quality is not the same, and the range is incomplete.
Finland primarily imported untreated and sawn timber from Russia, as well as fuelwood. While the Baltic states, Sweden, and Denmark have helped with fuelwood, there are issues with timber supplies.
As a result, the industry is in crisis, and wood-processing businesses are shutting down. Last fall, the pulp mill Sunila in Kotka became unprofitable, as reported by its owner, Stora Enso.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
