Finsa announces a historic price increase for quality pine
Quality pine, from stands subject to careful silvicultural management (pruning, thinning, etc.), will have a differential price from 1 July at Finsa, the main consumer of conifers in Galicia. The revaluation will apply exclusively to quality timber that is straight, clean, knot-free, free of visible resin, with a minimum diameter of 40 centimetres at the tapered end and in batches of at least 30 tonnes.
After Finsa had carried out an assessment of the characteristics and potential of the timber on which the owners have carried out efficient silvicultural treatments, Finsa's CEO, José Carballo, told the assembly of the Galician Forestry Association (AFG) that the price for this quality timber will increase from 1 July to 95-100 euros per tonne. (price for the wood delivered to the factory, bark included).
It should be noted that the revaluation exclusively affects the first logs of trees subjected to pruning, as it is essential that this timber be free of knots in order to be used for higher value-added industrial purposes. Therefore, in silviculturally managed pine plantations, there will be one or two top logs from each tree that can meet these requirements, while the rest of the timber will be sold as before, either as sawn timber or as chipboard wood, in the case of the smaller diameters.
The new quotations for quality timber announced by Finsa represent an increase in price of at least 50.1%. It is true that this price applies to only a small portion of the timber harvested from a pine forest, but it will have a significant overall impact for the owner, as it will even allow them to double the interest rate (TIR) they obtain on the investment made, according to AFG's calculations.
The Forestry Association of Galicia hopes that this commitment by Finsa will be followed in the near future by Galician sawmills, so that they too will raise the price for quality pine timber, to the extent that they can add value in the market to this top-end product.
Incentive for the silvicultural management of pine plantations
The increase in the price for quality pine will incentivise the silvicultural management of Galician pine plantations, rewarding community woodlands and private landowners who are striving to supply the Galician industry with timber of the highest performance.
The revaluation is also good news for the Galician woodland, where the pine tree has been losing prominence in recent years. The Forestry Association of Galicia reminds us that the pine tree, in addition to its productive function, has great environmental, scenic and social importance, particularly in coastal ecosystems, peri-urban woodlands and the mountains of inland Galicia.
Wood, the material of the 21st century
The managing director of Finsa, José Carballo, said at the AFG assembly that he expects from forest owners “the production of quality timber”, while “the industry – he said – has the obligation to find value for that quality timber in the market, which is not an easy task”, he acknowledged.
Carballo concluded by emphasising that “investing in wood production in Galicia will be a good business and, moreover, this is not something said in Galician with Galicia's interests in mind. Wood is the material of the 21st century, which will be marked by the bioeconomy, and Galicia has the opportunity to play a significant role in an essential raw material for the sustainability of the planet.”.
