According to data published by the Estonian Private Forest Centre (EMK) Timber Price Overview, prices for all timber categories, except softwood pulpwood, reached record highs in the first quarter of 2022.
The impact of the situation in Russia and Ukraine has pushed lumber prices to unprecedented heights. Particularly noteworthy is the appreciation of birch and aspen pulpwood and the sharp rise in lumber prices, EMK said.
"Even the absolute prices of conifer logs have reached heights we could not have imagined three months ago," the center said. "Prices for deciduous logs are very high."
Price growth in the pulp market has accelerated rapidly over the past three quarters. In three months, the price of coniferous pulpwood increased by 53%. During the same period, birch prices rose nearly 33 percent, and aspen rose more than 44 percent.
Like other categories, firewood has also become more expensive, but the price increase has been more significant. This is due to the sharp rise in energy prices that started last year, and firewood prices are now reacting at the start of the year.
Environment Minister Erki Savisaar said in an interview that the government should have a strategic stockpile of wood similar to other fuels. The ministry is ready to discuss increasing logging volumes to alleviate material shortages in the industry and avoid large-scale bark beetle damage.
The pressure from the situation in Ukraine has increased due to the previous increase in demand due to relatively low firewood prices and smaller inventories. As a result, by the end of March, the cost of the three blends of firewood had increased to 45.38 euros per cubic meter. "That's an unbelievably high price," EMK noted. "That's a 52.4 percent increase in three months and a 92.7 percent year-on-year increase."
In the first quarter of 2022, Estonia completed a total of 440 forest land transactions involving a total of 3,654 hectares of forest land ownership changes. Both the number of transactions and the total hectares sold decreased significantly. The amount of forest land privately sold to legal persons has also reduced significantly. At the same time, the average cost per hectare has increased.
