Better harvest of wood thanks to higher prices

About 50 percent of the quantity harvested is delivered to sawmills in Switzerland in the form of logs and turned into wood or furniture. (Photo: Keystone / LAURENT GILLIERON)

(nda)

Especially in private forests, the harvest has increased significantly by 12%, announced Wednesday the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). It reached a total of 1.61 million cubic meters last year. In the area twice as large public forest, the harvest stagnated at 3.08 million cubic meters.

Presumably, private owners brought, among other things, a two per cent increase in the amount of wood on the market. Nevertheless, the financial situation of forestry companies has not improved significantly. More than half of the forest companies were still losing money.

In Switzerland, the turnover of some 700 forestry companies amounted to 541 million francs, the expenditure to 501 million francs. According to information provided by the forest testing network, forest owners were to accept an average loss of ten francs per cubic meter of harvested timber

Log increase in 1965

In Switzerland, coniferous woods – especially spruce and fir – accounted for about two-thirds of the total. Harvested Wood The remaining third represented deciduous trees, especially beech. About half of the harvest is delivered in the form of logs at the sawmill and processed for example into wood or furniture.

Energy wood is produced from 40% of the harvest, either logs or wood chips, according to Michael Husistein. at the Federal Office of the Environment (Bafu) said on request. The remaining ten percent is transformed into industrial wood and then used to produce chipboard or shredded paper.

Last year's crop saw most of the lumber production increase. With a seven percent increase, a crop of 2.37 million cubic meters was made here. Even wood energy used increases by 6.5% to 1.06 million cubic meters. Only the wood of energy has further decreased by 1% to reach 0.74 million cubic meters.