UPM-Biofore-Magazine-1-2015-EN

TEXT VESA PUOSKARI

PHOTOGRAPHY UPM

SEEING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES

Pulp investments planned in Finland are set to significantly increase demand for wood by 2018 – in fact so much that supply from private forests will have to increase by ten million cubic metres per year.

V P, Stakeholder Relations, UPMEnergy and Public Affairs at UPM, Stefan Sundman, emphasises the importance of increasing wood supply fromprivate forests to the successful rollout of forthcoming pulp investments. “The woodmarket has been steady in recent years. As a result of new projects, the demand for pulpwood is increasing by six million cubic metres annually. To meet this demand, tenmillion cubic metres of timber will have to be felled.” Current supply is not enough to satisfy demand. More wood will have be sourced from somewhere, which presents

tangible opportunities for growth. Finland could afford to increase its timber harvesting by one third without exceeding sustainable felling levels. If the ever-growing demand for wood can be met through domestic supply, stumpage

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