After last week's severe storm, Riga Forests' biggest losses are in the Tīreļi forest district, where, after the first survey, it is estimated that around 10 thousand cubic meters of wood have been toppled over. Birch, spruce and pine trees were blown down in the wind. These trees will be sold on the market at a lower quality than usual, mostly as firewood, says Anita Skudra, head of Riga Forests.
"If we look at these 10 000 cubic meters at best, then one example of 120 euros per cubic meter is the price of an A-class log, or for example, if it is softwood and we have been selling it for 60 euros per cubic meter, then now it will be firewood and the average market price for firewood is between 28 and 40 euros per cubic meter. We estimate that for these trees it could be around EUR 30 per cubic meter, and that is a very bad price.
"We are just seeing now how many stands we have where we have 'fallen' from a potentially A-grade log and firewood is being consumed," says Skudra.
The damage will also delay soil preparation for autumn planting, which will have an impact on next year. Work is still ongoing to remove the fallen trees from the forests and so far the wood has not yet reached the market, with Riga Forests planning to auction off a single lot in just a few weeks. Skudra admits that the price of firewood will not be high at the moment, because with the damage in the forests, the supply of firewood will also be higher.
Kristaps Klauss, Vice President of the Latvian Wood Industry Federation, estimates that the overall volume of trees that fell in the storm is not large enough to have any impact on the prices of firewood or other wood products.
"We are talking about a maximum of 2% of the total logging volume per year, which means that, for example, a logging company that owns a logging site and has damage, will not cut both the good forest and the damaged forest and in the end it will probably not change the logging volumes in the country at all, because they will just harvest the damage now," says Klauss.
"In the territories of Latvia's State Forests (LVM), the storm broke most trees in Jūrmala, Jelgava, Dobele and Tukums, and first estimates suggest that around 70 thousand cubic meters of wood fell in total. Most of the affected trees are birch trees," says LVM representative Tomass Kotovičs.
In areas where there has been storm damage, residents will be able to collect logging residues - tops and branches - for firewood with special permits.
