Lowest felling quantities in Norway in 34 years (nordicforestry.org)

: Super User; News; 23 February 2010; Hits: 1157; Rating:

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Total felling in Norway in 2009 was only 6.8 million m3. This is the lowest figure in 34 years. The main reason is the slack in the construction industry as a result of the financial crisis.

The reduction in comparison with 2008 is more than 1.4 million m3, i.e. 17 %. The negative trend that started in the second half of 2008 continued for the whole year 2009. The reasons were low timber prices and reduced demand.

The shares of the total quantity felled were 45 % saw timber and 55 % pulpwood. 75 % of all felled timber was spruce.

Average timber prices were 303 NOK (37 euro) per cubic metre, i.e. a reduction of 58 NOK (7 euro) in comparison with the year 2008. Total revenue in the timber trade in 2009 was 2.1 billion NOK (263 million euro), i.e. a reduction of 31 % in comparison with the previous year.