2018

Both Prices and Wood Sales Witness Growth

In the first six months of 2018, the revenue from the sales of wood products of JSC "Latvia's State Forests" (LVM) increased by 17%, reaching 149 million euros. Prices of round timber products increased by 12%, of fuel chips by 8%, while the total wood supplies increased by 4%, reaching 2.85 million cubic metres.

Andris Balodis, LVM Forestry Deputy Director for Round Timber Production and Deliveries: "Compared to the first six months of 2017, this year, the company has delivered 2% more coniferous sawlogs, 16% more deciduous tree sawlogs and 13% more veneer logs to its customers - timber industry companies. The ability of JSC "Latvia's  State Forests" to fulfil its fuel chip supply commitments should be particularly highlighted, since the market experienced a rapid growth of demand, and even witnessed a deficit of chips. In the first half of the year, the company supplied its customers with 225 thousand MWh of chips, which is 1% more as compared to the first half of 2017.”

With the growing potential of thin wood processing in Latvia (for production of slabs, granules and pallet blocks) and the preservation of a good market situation, JSC "Latvia's State Forests" sold larger quantities of thin wood to local processing companies in the first half of 2018. As a result, the export volumes of pulpwood have decreased by 80% this year.

Purchasers of wood products offered by JSC "Latvia's State Forests" are various wood processing companies: coniferous and deciduous sawnwood producers, birch plywood producers, pillar and pole producers, board and pellet producers, heat energy producers, log house manufacturers and manufacturers of other wood products. The company's customers mainly sell their products (conifer construction materials, plywood, OSB and particle boards, pellets, etc.) in the export markets of Europe, North Africa and Asia, in successful competition with other manufacturers from Scandinavia, Russia and Germany.

Since its foundation in 1999, LVM by implementing sustainable forest management has paid one billion euros to state and local government budgets. LVM's economic activities are carried out by maintaining and recovering forests, taking care of nature conservation, recreation opportunities and increasing timber volumes, as well as investing in expanding the forest land and developing forest infrastructure - renovation of drainage systems and forest road construction. The volume of timber in the forests managed by LVM increases by 12 million cubic metres annually.