– It is good to have firewood on the market – E24

Norsk Ved is urging producers to price logs soberly when the mercury in the thermometer shrinks before the weekend.

is expected It can be very cold in Eastland Coming days.

It may be tempting to sit in front of the fireplace and hear the crackle of birch bark, but what about wood reserves?

Norway never runs out of firewood, says Øyvind Strana Larsen, a specialist at Norsk Fed, a forum for firewood producers.

Three types of clients

Strana Larsen doesn't like the media constantly talking about people “hoarding” firewood.

– It's called “preparing for winter.” We have been getting firewood for the winter almost since we started using the land. He confirms that 9,500 years ago.

According to Strana Larsen, firewood customers consist of three main groups: Those who buy enough firewood well before winter. Those who wait and see what winter will be like and who only buy when it gets cold. The third group are those who do not have much storage space and make occasional purchases.

– He says that the last two groups enter the market especially when the cold hits.

– Always someone has stock

In 2010, there was a sharp increase in demand for firewood. At that time, many producers were running out of work. Some producers have run out of firewood this fall, but there's no reason to worry, Strana Larsen says.

– When we get into harsh winters, more lumber producers will be empty than usual, but there will always be someone with a stock of wood, he says.

– Some firewood producers also perform what is called artificial drying of firewood and thus can produce dry firewood continuously throughout the winter. The decentralized location of the producers, with many across the country, also helps us never run out. It's good to have firewood on the market.

Norsk Vedsentral's Sveinung Skjesol, which supplies firewood in the Oslo region, Bergen, Trondheim and Miuspenny, says demand was higher than usual on the Christmas and New Year weekends. Nordic Wood Central has been selling firewood since 2010.

Scisol believes it has to do with the winter weather we are feeling now.

However, Norsk Vedsentral has stock of Norwegian birch – and a relatively short delivery time at the moment, according to Skjesol.

Calls for the development of reasonable prices

Everyone is affected by the violent global system we live in, and the timber market is certainly no exception.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the export of birch timber from our eastern neighbors to Europe stopped. Norway exports birch lumber, so local prices follow world market prices. In the last two years, we have almost doubled the price of birch timber in Norway.

Birch wood can be burned in a fireplace, but it is also used in many industrial products, including paper production.

– When the supply of birch wood in Europe decreases, the price of timber naturally rises. Timber producers have to cover the increased costs, so the price of wood also rises, Strana Larsen says.

In addition, wooden machinery is powered by diesel tractors or electric motors. Diesel and electricity prices have risen, which also means higher costs for timber producers, he says.

– Timber producers also offer timber delivery service. This is more difficult now in the middle of winter with heavy firewood Lots of snow and slippery roads.

Strana Larsen says delivery costs can be somewhat higher now than if she ordered firewood in time in the fall before the snow arrives.

– We recommend to our Norsk Ved members that prices should be soberly developed on the basis of cost increases and wage increases for the rest of society. The feedback I get from our members is that this is being followed up on.

– We tell members that you must have a sober price development in relation to the cost picture. Now it's hard to move on On the road, so it can also lead to increased operating costs.

– How many producers in Norway are not your members?

-We have about 3000 members. Unfortunately, Statistics Sweden does not have figures on how many producers there are, but there are estimates of about twice that number.

Signs of overload

Supplier Vedøra must keep prices low despite rising production costs, says managing director Kasper Harram.

Vedøra is not a member of Norsk ved.

Like Norwegian company Wood Central, Vedøra has noticed increased demand now in the cold of winter.

– We have the big autumn period, from the end of August to the beginning of September – when Norwegians fill their elbows. Then they replenish the stock when the cold comes. So the load usually increases a few days before the extreme cold arrives, Haram says.

He feels customers are more price sensitive this year than in the past.

-People are more careful with their money now. Haram says: We did our best to reduce prices.

-We consider cheap firewood almost a human right.

Responds to rising prices

Before winter, Norsk Ved conducted a survey among its members. Producers estimated a price increase of ten to twelve percent this year.

Strana Larsen says he tracks prices on Finn.no. Sometimes he sees small bags at higher prices when the cold starts.

– In 2022, there was unusually high demand. Then there was someone who paid NOK 349 for a 40 liter bag. It will be NOK 7 per kWh. Then you take advantage of people who are in a difficult situation.