Finnish small forest owners struggle to sell timber as buyers reject small plots

Small forest owners in Finland face growing difficulties selling their timber, with major buyers often rejecting small or fragmented plots, reports national broadcaster Yle. The Finnish Forest Centre estimates that tens of millions of cubic metres of wood remain unharvested due to the issue, costing society an estimated €10–20 billion in lost revenue.

Arto Karjalainen, a small forest owner in Nurmes, eastern Finland, has firsthand experience with the problem. His forest holdings are split across multiple plots, including a one-hectare section bisected by a major road. When Stora Enso’s procurement manager Johanna Simanainen visited the site, she deemed it impractical for harvesting.

“A forest machine can’t cross a highway, and for safety reasons, we can’t store timber on the roadside,” Simanainen explained. She acknowledged that while companies are always interested in wood in principle, small plots often make mechanised harvesting unprofitable—for the buyer, the contractor, and the seller.

Karjalainen argues that small forest owners are at a disadvantage in timber sales. “Large companies either don’t make offers at all, or the per-cubic-metre prices are so low that no deals materialise,” he said. Faced with minimal demand, he now plans to wait for his trees to grow larger before selling, even if it means eventually accepting lower prices to avoid leaving timber to rot.

Millions of cubic metres left unharvested

The Finnish Forest Centre reports that around 160,000 forest owners in Finland hold plots of 0.5 to 2 hectares, while another 100,000 own 2–5 hectares. Even small islands—Finland has roughly 178,000, containing an estimated 50 million cubic metres of wood—pose challenges. Buffer zones along shorelines often make harvesting unviable on islands under 4 hectares.

Markku Remes, a leading expert at the Finnish Forest Centre, estimates that tens of millions of cubic metres of wood go unharvested annually due to these constraints. “This represents a societal loss of €10–20 billion—equivalent to about 1.5 years’ worth of commercial logging volume,” he noted.

Neighbours urged to collaborate

Simanainen suggested that small forest owners could improve their chances by coordinating with neighbours to offer larger combined volumes. “Could neighbours discuss harvesting needs by the mailbox and explore joint sales?” she proposed. However, Karjalainen pointed out that such cooperation requires advance knowledge of others’ plans—a rarity in practice.

With limited options, many small owners like Karjalainen are left waiting, hoping their trees will eventually reach a size that attracts buyers—even at reduced prices.