Where can a Russian forestry entrepreneur find information on the Finnish market?

Submitted by KA4002 on

The Bofori project has been contacted by Russian forestry entrepreneurs with questions on forestry work contracting in Finland. Answers were collected in a form of interview.

Where to find general information about forestry work in Finland?

The Finnish Forest Centre's corporate customer advisors provide information on the operating environment, forest sector organizations, required card examinations, the operator service “Metsään.fi” and other questions related to the forest sector. Contact information can be found here.

Regional municipal or provincial development companies also help.

How the current price level of silvicultural work can be checked?

General price levels cannot be given precisely because the price is formed in the market on the basis of offers. Forestry associations that use subcontractors, Metsähallitus and large forest industry companies organise tendering for forestry work among service providers.

The average annual prices of silvicultural and forest improvement work can be found in Luke's statistics (English).

How the prices for silvicultural work formed and what factors affect them?

The price is formed in the market, as mentioned above. The price is affected by the number and diameter of trees to be removed and the degree of difficulty of the terrain. The size of the treated area affects the price too – small, isolated work sites are priced more expensive than large, uniform sites.

Are there any normative documents or instructions regulating silvicultural work?

In Finland work is carried out according to the Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management developed by Tapio. More information

The Bofori project is producing training materials on silvicultural work. For example, guidebook on young stand treatment is available in Russian here. Translation of the Self-assessment guide for silvicultural work (Metsänhoitotöiden omavalvontaopas) is on the way. The guide will be published later in the Bofori website. In addition, videoclips on silviculture will be produced in Russian to be published in the Bofori Youtube-channel.

How forest owners find contractors, is there any websites where information is posted?

Forest owners who are registered to the operator service “Metsään.fi” see list of service providers and can contact them directly. After that forest owner and forestry contractor negotiate and agree details of carrying out the work – timetable, price and other conditions. “Metsään.fi” service can be visited without registration here.

Service providers can read the terms and conditions of “Metsään.fi” and make a registration application here. Finnish Forest Centre makes a decision to enter the service provider to the operator service and notifies the applicant.

In addition, regional associations of forest owners “Forest Management Associations” (Metsänhoitoyhdistys) offer forestry services or information about local contractors. Of course, forest owner can find contractors by just searching them through different channels.

Worth mentioning that part of the forest owners purchase silvicultural services in connection with the wood sales contract, through the company buying the wood.

Are there any forest owner associations that negotiate with contractors?

Above mentioned “Forest Management Associations” (Metsänhoitoyhdistys). Contact information for regional associations can be found here.

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Answers were provided by the project experts from the Finnish Forest Centre and Luke, interview by Sari Karvinen (Luke).