Galician forest owners increase their turnover by 29.1% in 2021
The forest in Galicia proves once again to be a good investment for Galician families. In 2021, forest owners invoiced around €291.8 million from timber sales, according to estimates by the Forestry Association of Galicia, based on felling data from the Ministry of Rural Affairs. That figure represents around 29 per cent more than was invoiced the previous year.
Invoicing
Of the €291.8 million invoiced by forest owners in 2021, €168.1 million was from eucalyptus, €117.8 million from conifers and around €5.8 million from broad-leaved deciduous trees, which, beyond their use for domestic firewood, continue to have only a residual use for industry.
The largest increase in revenue was in conifers, while eucalyptus improved compared to 2020, but it still remains behind the revenue and felling figures of 2018 and 2019.
The two provinces with the greatest weight in the sector are A Coruña and Lugo, which together account for three-quarters of pine clearances and over 85 per cent of eucalyptus clearances.
By region, Santiago-Interior Meseta leads revenue from eucalyptus felling (€29 million), while Lugo-Sarria leads in pines (€19.2 million) and broadleaves (€960,000).
Prices on conifers
The most notable feature of the past year was the gradual rise in pinewood prices, which accelerated in the second half of 2021. This increase was due to the international market situation, where an upturn in demand benefited both Galician conifers and those from the rest of Europe (fir, spruce, Scots pine, etc.).
The prices of saw pine are now around 40-50 per cent above those recorded in 2020, according to data from the Forestry Association of Galicia.
In pine roll logs, the price ranges from €42 to €51 per cubic metre (standing timber, excluding VAT), while select roll logs with diameters over 40 centimetres are priced at €66–71; the trituration log costs around €18–25.
Eucalyptus prices
In eucalyptus, the market experienced smaller changes in 2021, with a slight rise over the year due to the improvement in pulp prices. Eucalyptus globulus is currently at €30-35 per cubic metre (standing timber, ex-VAT and with bark), while Eucalyptus nitens is around €26-30. The price is heavily influenced by the size of the plot to be felled and its accessibility for felling and timber extraction.
Short films
In 2021, a slight increase in the volume of timber felled in forests is also noteworthy, which stood at around 10 million cubic metres (9.7 million corresponding to private properties and community forests and around 300.000 cubic metres corresponding to publicly managed forests, mostly under agreements with community woodlands).
Of the timber felled by private individuals and community woodlands, 5.6 million tonnes were eucalyptus, 3.8 million tonnes pine and just over 200,000 tonnes broadleaf deciduous.
Harvests by private landowners and community woodlands increased by around half a million cubic metres compared with the previous year. Both eucalyptus and, above all, pine harvests rose, thanks to favourable market prices and a one-off increase in felling in spring 2021, before the eucalyptus moratorium came into force.
Multifunctionality of the mountain and sustainable management
The billing calculations correspond to income from standing timber, with bark, and exclude VAT. In addition to the proceeds from timber sales, community woodlands and private forest owners supplement their income with other income streams, such as chestnuts, fruit plantations, herds in silvopasture or ecosystem services (carbon sales), among others.
All these revenues are generated within the framework of sustainable forest management. Thus, for example, it should be emphasised that forest owners carry out planting or natural regeneration on all felled areas, which helps to ensure the continuity of the environmental, social and economic services provided by forests.
