Warm weather causing work stoppages in forestry
The early arrival of warm temperatures and thawing weather this year is causing significant problems in the forestry industry. In many places, logging has been halted and work paused because the thaw and deteriorating roads make it impossible to carry out forestry work or transport logs.
Typically, the end of February and the beginning of March have been crucial working periods in forestry, but the current situation is viewed with great concern by sector participants. Forest harvesting machines have been stopped, and the bottomless mud pits that greet from the clearings explain why.
"Right now, it's so soft that under normal conditions, work can no longer be done. All of our costs are increasing due to the softness of the ground, and we are completely destroying the forest floor, so the question is whether making those tracks in the forest is welcome at all today. At the moment, we have now missed three jobs, one of which I just gave away last week," explained Margus Võsunurm, the CEO of Forepla OÜ.
Valga Puu, a company involved in forest management, acknowledges that if winter ends so early, there is less time to perform work, which ultimately affects the entire sector.
"This March, the volume of work that is usually done will definitely be cut at least in half, if not more. If everything thaws and dries up by spring, then the bird nesting season will start right away, meaning a very long mandatory work break for us," said Jüri Tambets, resource manager at Valga Puu.
He added that they too have paused work due to the thaw. Concerns are also raised by weight limits imposed on roads.
"It's very likely that many roads will be closed, and we are already forced to stop because we are not allowed to move with machines or large machinery on small roads," Tambets stated.
The paused forestry work directly affects sawmills. Kristjan Kund, head of purchasing at AS Barrus, mentioned that typically, materials would have been collected into storage by now, but they are receiving two to three calls every day reporting delays in material arrival due to the changed weather.
"Since this is still the time of year when we could be increasing our stock for spring, this is now starting to become a bit difficult because roads are closed, logging is halted, and soon the bird nesting season will start. This presents challenges in accumulating the necessary inventory," he explained.
Forestry companies do not rule out that the early arrival of the thaw may also affect the price of logs.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Marcus Turovski
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
