Birch Pulpwood Prices at Latvian Ports Keep Rising

Purchase prices for birch pulpwood and packaging wood continue to rise on the Latvian timber market, according to the forest auction platform E-silva. Its experts say that at the end of October the highest offers for birch packaging wood at Latvian ports reached 86 euros per cubic metre. The trend matters to loggers, wood processors and paper mills, for which birch is an important raw material.

Prices by wood type

The average market price of birch pulpwood was about 77 euros per cubic metre, while port purchases reached 82 euros. The market for coniferous pulpwood, including pine and spruce, is stable at an average of around 65 euros per cubic metre. Aspen pulpwood is cheaper, averaging about 55 euros.

Reasons for the rise

The experts attribute the increase to a shortage of raw material in the Nordic countries. Finland and Sweden are the region's largest paper and pulp producers, and they previously imported a significant volume of birch from Russia and Belarus. Those supplies have stopped, so Scandinavian mills now buy birch in the Baltic states. Purchase prices in Finland keep climbing, which pushes up prices at Latvian ports as well.

Competition from veneer and plywood manufacturers adds to the pressure. They are willing to pay around 150 euros per cubic metre or more for high-quality, large-diameter birch veneer logs. Loggers therefore direct the most valuable parts of the trunk to veneer production, leaving less wood for pulpwood and packaging-wood buyers, who must raise prices to keep their mills running.

Regulation and outlook

E-silva notes that the European Union's Deforestation Regulation, which requires stricter traceability of wood origin, will soon apply. Large companies must start complying from the end of December 2026. This encourages European buyers to look early for reliably traceable wood, increasing the appeal of Latvian birch.

The forest auction experts forecast that the birch assortment market will remain active in the near term thanks to consistently high demand in the processing industry. They also say the price growth is not endless and current levels are historically high. Future price movements will depend on global demand for paper and packaging materials; if consumption falls, round wood prices could also be affected.

About the platform

E-silva is a forest auction platform operated by SIA E-Silva. According to Firmas.lv, the company was registered in 2025 and has share capital of 200,000 euros. Its first financial year, from 7 May to 31 December 2025, produced turnover of 430,965 euros and a profit of 7,139 euros.