The volume of wood harvested in Holmen's forests can be raised by 10 per
cent or around 250,000 cubic metres a year, as the volume of growing
wood has increased and still is increasing. This situation emerges from
the harvesting estimates prepared by Holmen and referred to in the
latest issue of Holmen Business Report. The estimates have been prepared
on the basis of the latest data concerning the Group's forest holdings
of more than one million hectares. The volume these forests represent
increased by 1 per cent a year throughout the 1990s, and it will
increase by broadly the same amount during the coming ten years.
Björn Andrén, President of Holmen Skog, says:
"Given the prevailing market conditions, the higher volumes available
for harvesting represent the addition of some MSEK 50 a year to Holmen
Skog's result.
The increase in the volume of growing wood is a result of our systematic
silvicultural activities. The new level, with the capacity to harvest
more than 2.5 million cubic metres a year, applies for the coming decade
and will rise further in the future."
The figures show a considerable increase, especially in thinning, which
reflects the fact that more and more plantations are reaching the age
where thinning is required.
Holmen's forests include more than one million hectares of productive
forest land, most of which - 650,000 hectares - is located in northern
Sweden. A large block of almost 300,000 hectares is located in
Hälsingland and Härjedalen, while the remainder - approximately 70,000
hectares - can be found in northern Östergötland, Södermanland, Uppland
and north-eastern Småland.
For further information please contact Björn Andrén, President of Holmen
Skog (telephone: +46 70 602 77 11.