Mellanskog threatens to burn up the pulpwood

July 21, 2010 by timbercommunity

The Forest Owners Association "Mellanskog" wants better price for pulpwood and threatens to burn up the pulpwood. Otherwise, they threaten to sell forest to chip production to be used in thermal power stations.

Mellanskog would inevitably would like to get more paid for their pulpwood and they believe  it is not profitable to sell the wood to paper mills in the central region. Price differences are too great between different regions. If forest owners in Mellanskog sell their wood from conifers to one of the  paper mills located in southern Sweden the price is around 400 SEK per cubic meter of wood while the price in central Sweden is much lower, around 300 SEK.

Mellanskog wants forest owners to get better paid  for pulpwood.  It is Mellanskog CEO Lars Gabrielsson, pushed by his members, who now runs a harder line against the buyers of pulpwood, reported business magazine Dagens Industri few days ago. According to Lars Gabrielsson, it is the price of energy resources that determine if the wood will become pulp wood or if it will be fired up. - The price determine were to sell, there is no moral or political obstacles for us to sell pulpwood to the energy market, says Lars Gabrielsson to Dagens Industri.

The world price for long-fiber kraft pulp is at record height and Lars Gabrielsson think it should also reflect the prices on pulpwood in central Sweden. He says that Mellanskog and Södra have entered a close cooperation to carry large amounts of pulpwood from south central Sweden. How large volumes involved, he would not disclose.

But there are also critics that completed price changes would force the pulp and paper out of the country and in the long run, this scenario neither favors Mellanskog or other forest owners.