Ari Harin, a research professor at the VTT Technology Research Center in Finland, said that the supply of wood as an industrial raw material is already a problem in Finland.
"You could send a thank-you note to the Kremlin for this. We're already in a severe shortage of wood, especially in southeastern Finland," Haring said.
The first industrial victim of the wood shortage was the Sunila pulp mill in Kotka. Finnish forest products company Stora Enso announced in early September that the plant would close at the end of this year. In announcing the closure, the company said the plant was no longer profitable, a situation caused in particular by the suspension of log imports from Russia.
Finnish forestry 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% of its logs for processing industry from Russia. In southeastern Finland, factories use an even higher proportion of Russian wood.
Finland's forestry industry is currently facing a major transformation due to material shortages.
“The availability of wood as a raw material is becoming more challenging and more limited,” Haring noted.
In addition to halting imports from Russia, the increasing use of wood in the form of chips or pellets in biofuel energy production has also led to shortages at factories.
On the other hand, increasing deforestation is difficult due to EU carbon sequestration obligations. Forest growth has also declined in recent years and is unlikely to return to previous levels.