Finland’s forest sector faces weaker exports and a difficult year ahead

Finland’s forest industry started 2026 with weaker export volumes across most major product categories, confirming the cautious outlook recently published by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). While cartonboard exports showed modest growth, the country's core forest products – particularly softwood lumber, wood products and pulp – continued to face weak demand, excess capacity and uncertain market conditions. Data from Finnish Customs (Tulli) show that exports of wood products fell sharply during the first quarter, while pulp exports recorded the steepest year-on-year decline among the main forest industry segments. The figures support Luke’s assessment that 2026 ...