New record for Swedish softwood imports
Importation of softwood logs to Sweden reached a 10-year high in 2013 with Norway and Latvia being the major suppliers.
The import volumes have been growing steadily the past five years, with 2013 imports being almost 60 percent higher than five years ago. Softwood logs make up all of the increase in imports and Wood Resource Quarterly reported that 2013 had the highest softwood log import volume over the past ten years.
The total softwood log shipments from Norway to Sweden, including sawlogs and pulpwood, reached just over two million m3 in 2013, up from 1,4 million m3 in 2012 and only 709 000 m3 in 2011. The major reason for this dramatic increase was that the Swedish pulp company Sodra permanently closed its pulpmill in Tofte, Norway last summer. As a consequence, private forest owners in the region have increased their log shipments to pulp mills in central Sweden. This has had an impact on log flows and prices in the local markets in Sweden and there has been no shortage of wood fiber in this part of the country, according to Wood Resource Quarterly.