Timber shortage forces changes in Finnish timber industry
The supply of wood as a raw material for industry is already a problem in Finland, says Ari Hallin, a research professor at the VTT Technical Research Centre.
"You could send a letter of thanks to the Kremlin for that. We are already in a situation where there is a serious shortage of wood, especially in south-east Finland," says Hallin.
The first industrial victim of the timber shortage is the Sunila pulp mill in Kotka. Finnish forest products company Stora Enso announced in early September that the mill would close at the end of this year. In announcing the closure, the company said that the mill was no longer profitable, a situation caused in particular by the cessation of log imports from Russia.
The Finnish forest industry is currently facing major changes, says research professor Ari Harlin. Lack of accommodation here Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine about 18 months ago, Finland imported about 7-10 per cent of its logs from Russia for the processing industry. In southeastern Finland, the proportion of Russian wood used in mills is even higher.
The Finnish forest industry is currently facing a major transformation due to material shortages.
"The availability of wood as a raw material is becoming more and more challenging and limited," notes Hallin.
In addition to the cessation of imports from Russia, the increasing use of wood in the form of chips or pellets in the production of biofuel energy has also led to a shortage of mills.
On the other hand, increasing forest harvesting is difficult due to the EU's carbon sink obligations. Forest growth has also declined in recent years and is unlikely to return to previous levels.
