Higher electricity prices boost firewood sales in Finland — YLE News
In Finland, rising electricity prices have boosted the autumn firewood sales season. Almost all of the country’s major retail chains have already switched to imported firewood, while private sellers mostly work with Finnish timber, YLE News reports.
Firewood is imported to Finland primarily from Latvia. At the same time, Vaasa entrepreneur Stig-Johan Westergard, who runs the Vaasanklapi online store, ordered one truckload of firewood from Tartu, Estonia, last year. According to him, this happened in January–February, when cold weather and high demand had nearly depleted the company’s stocks of local timber.
Ready-made packages
Westergard said that firewood from Latvia is supplied in 40-liter bags. He described it as dry and consistent in quality, comparable to Finnish timber. According to him, the ready-made packaging suits the operating model of Vaasanklapi, which mostly delivers firewood to customers in small packages.
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The entrepreneur stressed that he prefers to buy in Finland, mostly from local producers. He also produces some of the firewood himself in Närpes. Westergard has observed that some customers do not want to buy firewood from the Baltic states, while others are primarily interested in the price and the wood’s ability to provide heat.
Imports do not suit everyone
Entrepreneur Eero Raina, who has been selling local birch firewood in Ylistaro near Seinäjoki for more than 20 years, does not consider imports an option. He explained this by the importance of local production and the specifics of his trade: his customers buy firewood in bulk, so bagged goods would be logistically inconvenient.
Marjaana Kiilunen, the owner of Klapila, said that her company previously supplied firewood to retail chains, which have now replaced Finnish products with imported ones. In her opinion, this is not surprising, as when the heating capacity is the same, price often becomes the decisive factor. According to YLE News, imports of deciduous wood from the Baltic states to Finland rose sharply around 2023 — by 1,600% compared with the 2021 level — and have been more stable in recent years.
