It is true that more wood is being harvested in German forests than ever before. But the quality suffers and depresses the proceeds.
Although a new record amount of wood was removed from German forests, forestry operations suffered a massive slump in profits in 2019.
They produced goods and services worth 6.9 billion euros, as the Federal Statistical Office reported on Monday in the forest accounts. In the previous year it was 8.8 billion euros. The net corporate profits fell by 61 percent to 629 million euros.
Drought, storm and pests such as the bark beetle had increased the amount of so-called damaged wood, which could only be marketed at very low prices. As a result of the oversupply, the raw wood price was 36 percent below that of the previous year. In 2019, a total of 93 million cubic meters of wood was removed from the forests in Germany, a new high after the previous record of 90 million cubic meters from 2018.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
