In 2020, forest operations suffered from a “quadruple burden”. The year was marked by the climate crisis and market upheavals. In addition, there was the corona crisis, which fourthly ensured that more and more people flocked to the forest to relax, which put an increased burden on it. “We have our backs to the wall,” said the President of Austria's Agricultural and Forestry Operations (LBFÖ), Felix Montecuccoli, on Wednesday. There was praise and blame for politics.
So the joy about the implementation of the so-called forest fund is great. This is filled with 350 million euros. For four years, forest owners receive grants and compensation totaling 200 million euros for reforestation, forest maintenance for climate-proof forests, bark beetle damage, the establishment of wet and dry storage facilities, forest protection and forest fire prevention. The other 150 million euros are primarily used for research purposes in the light of global warming. “The forest fund will help us through very difficult years,” said Montecuccoli.
Criticism came for the “incomprehensible postponement of the renewable expansion law”: “It needs more speed in the implementation. In the fight against the climate crisis, we must not lose any time, we can actually no longer afford delays,” said the LBFÖ President in Towards the federal government. The land and forest managers should finally be included in the biodiversity strategy, demanded Montecuccoli.
In any case, what gives the forest companies hope, although they look to the future with mixed feelings, is that wood will be in demand as a raw material of the future. “For the bioeconomy, wood is indispensable as a climate-positive material,” says the forester. “Nevertheless, the great uncertainty factor of climate change remains,” he said of the outlook. The rainfall in spring is decisive for the current year. “With more precipitation we can keep the bark beetle in check. But that is more a wish than a forecast,” said Montecuccoli. Forestry would continue to be “a meager business”. Income from work is possible, but not the accumulation of wealth. Therefore, there is still massive drumming against property taxes. Income taxes are okay.
2020 brought a further significant price reduction across all product ranges compared to 2019. The price has been in a downward spiral for some time. At the beginning of 2020 – i.e. before the Covid-19 pandemic – there was still a slight upward trend in needle saw log prices (January / February 2020: 75.6 euros / solid cubic meter), the wood prices went downhill with the onset of the corona crisis reached a negative record value of 61.3 euros / fm in summer 2020. Positive price signals were not evident again until the end of 2020.
Timber price in the basement
“The annual average price in 2020 for coniferous logs was 68.8 euros per cubic meter, which is a 30 percent price reduction compared to the prices actually required in mid-2014,” complained Montecuccoli at the digitally held press conference. “In the third quarter of 2020, the saw log price index was below the 100 percent mark for the first time since 2009. With prices like this, a positive result is no longer possible.” Operating costs could no longer be covered through the sale of wood “and sustainable forestry is endangered”. The bright spots are the slight price increase from the fourth quarter of 2020 and that the order books of the sawmill industry are full. Large investments have also been announced on the part of the industry.
Austria imported a total of 12.06 million solid cubic meters of raw wood in 2020. The main supplier countries were the Czech Republic and Germany. At the same time, conifer sawn timber exports fell by around 2.5 percent. The corona crisis had a major impact in some countries, but this was offset again in the middle of the year. In the previous main export market, Italy, exports fell by 9.4 percent. This was offset by increased exports to Germany (+13 percent) and the USA (+26 percent). A total raw wood import of 12.06 million cubic meters and a total raw wood export of 0.63 million cubic meters results in a net raw wood import 2020 of 11.43 million cubic meters.
