Exports dropped 4% in 2001 to 7.7bn (e12.2bn), 80% of which was pulp and paper production, according to the statistics compiled by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF).

Paper and board capacity rose to 36m tonnes, mainly due to mergers and acquisitions, some 60%, or 22m tonnes, located outside of Finland, with 17m tonnes located in Europe.

One third of Finnish companies total production capacity is based in Europe, and is largely concentrated on magazine papers, fine papers and newsprint.

But their paper and board production in Finland fell 7.5%, or 1m tonnes, on the previous year to 12.5m tonnes.

Although the price of pulp fell 35% during the year, the price of paper and board remained relatively stable.

Export revenues also dropped by 5% to 7.7bn. Germany remains Finlands largest market for forest industry exports at 20%, followed by the UK and France.

The FFIF has also published a guide, What is forest certification? , which provides a definition of forest certification principles and sustainable forest management issues.

Story by Andy Scott