Climate minister believes state forest manager could acquire Södra lands

According to Climate Minister Yoko Alender, the State Forest Management Center (RMK) could consider purchasing land in Estonia being sold by the Swedish forestry group Södra. RMK has declined to speculate on the matter but confirmed that all options are being evaluated.
Last week, Alender (Reform) told Delfi Ärileht that Estonia should consider buying back forest land from the Swedes. ERR asked the Ministry of Climate whether this was merely an offhand idea by the minister or a serious plan.
"The minister still believes that RMK can and should participate in land purchases under equal market conditions if it deems them economically viable," said Martin Altraja, spokesperson for the Ministry of Climate. He added that the seriousness of this idea is up to RMK to evaluate.
Priit Luts, RMK's head of media relations, noted that every product has a buyer if the price is right. According to him, the sale of Södra's lands will have a limited impact on the market overall, as ownership changes do not increase or decrease the amount of forest land in Estonia. Publicly available information suggests that Södra plans to sell forest land in Estonia amounting to about 1 percent of all managed forest area in the country.
"The information about the sale is still fresh and we have no reason to speculate about who might emerge as the buyer through the forestry group's negotiations. RMK considers all options in its operations," Luts confirmed.
Last week, Södra Skogsägarna Ekonomisk Förening announced its decision to sell nearly 153,000 hectares of land it owns in Estonia and Latvia. Södra manages more than 16,000 hectares in Estonia, 90 percent of which is forest land, making it the sixth largest private forest owner.
The Latvian government is also considering purchasing Södra's forests. Latvian Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze has tasked the Latvian State Forest Management Center (LVM) with gathering more information about the deal to discuss the idea further with the government.
According to Latvia's public broadcaster LSM, the value of Södra's land in Latvia is at least €500 million, but the total transaction value could reach as much as €1 billion. A key challenge is securing the necessary funding and Latvian authorities are currently considering establishing a fund where residents and businesses could invest.
In Latvia, about half of all forest land is state-owned, with the remainder in private hands. Södra owns 6 percent of the privately held forest land.
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Editor: Karin Koppel, Marcus Turovski