Finnish exports of softwood lumber and planed lumber increased by 15% in the third quarter vis à vis last year’s comparative quarter to 2.07m m³. According to the Finnish customs authority, deliveries to customers in Europe rose by 9% to 812,148m³. At 646,006m³, exports to East Asia were 59% above the figure of the previous year. Exports to the Near and Middle East increased by 5% to 224,091m³. Deliveries to North Africa, in contrast, at 370,533m³ fell short of the preceding year’s figure by 12%.

Classified according to ranges, in the third quarter Finnish suppliers exported 1.92m m³ rough-sawn softwood lumber, constituting a value of €359.0m. The notional value of exported softwood lumber per cubic metre therefore increased slightly to an average of €187/m³. Planed lumber exports amounted to a volume of 147,005m³. Vis à vis the comparative quarter of the preceding year the export value increased by 39% to €41.8m. The value per exported cubic metre of planed lumber thus increased by 10% to €284/m³.

In the first quarter imports increased by 14%, this was followed by a stable development in the second quarter. Accumulated over the first nine months, a 9% increase in exports was recorded to 6.90m m³. Deliveries to EU countries increased by 7% to 2.64m m³. The most significant increase rates were recorded for exports to Estonia (+38%), Austria (+26%), Belgium (+22%) and Italy (+17%). Only marginal increases were recorded for exports to Great Britain (+5%), Germany (+4%) and France (2%).