world news - 13.04.2009
Lack of industrial residues creates new markets for wood chips
Mr
Roger Johansson, biofuel co-ordinator in the company Sveaskog, says
that higher prices are of course a great bonus for forest owners. Now
it is evident that biofuels can constitute the third important product
group for forestry. 
Heating plants suffer from a lack of biofuels. Prices go up when
sawmills, building sites and industry deliver less wood leftovers
because of the economic downturn. This creates new possibilities for
forest owners. Even pulpwood has been used as energy source.
He says that the prices of wood chips on the spot market are now 10, 15
and in extreme cases even 20 % higher than those of long term contracts
concluded one year ago. Because of weak demand for pulpwood in the wood
processing industry and decreasing pulp wood prices, pulpwood is now
occasionally used also as energy source. This has almost never happened
in Sweden before. Normally leftovers, i.e. branches, treetops and
stumps, are used by heating plants but not pulp wood.
The economic downturn is the reason for the price increases. Sawmills
have reduced their production and there is less sawdust and chips
available for energy uses. Because of low activity on building sites
and in industry there is less recovered wood, for example pallets and
packing materials, for use by heating plants. In addition, the winter
has been quite cold.
Mr Johansson says that although there is no big money for forest
owners, bioenergy is an interesting option. For a couple of years ago
thinning of smaller trees and cleaning the edges of agricultural land
was not profitable. Exploitation of this kind of wood – which was
previously considered as some kind of waste — is now all of a sudden
profitable.
See also:
- — Reduced domestic purchase and import of timber in Norway
- — Russia’s role in the global forestry sector and its prospects for the future
- — The forest industry in Finland reduces its dependence on logs from Russia in 2008
- — Electronic export permit system for China timber importers and exporters
- — Europe could become strategic biofuel market for Russia