Current issue: 58(5)
Certain trends in the sales behaviour of private non-industrial forest owners suggest that the forest industries have to rely on a raw material supply much less than the allowable cut. This paper deals with several factors responsible for the change in sales behaviour during the last 20–25 years. These changes are caused by social change, a multi-face process which is led by industrialization. It is manifested in the increasing division of labour, more pronounced strive for efficiency, change in social values for the benefit of the adoption of innovations and thus of further changes.
It has become more common than previously to borrow money instead of selling timber. An incentive for doing so is provided by the increased progression of income tax scales which makes it more profitable than earlier to substitute a loan for timber sales with a view to reduce the amount of taxes. In 1977, the real value of the farmers’ debts was 1.7 times as large as in 1970. Inflation provides a further incentive to borrow money rather than to sell timber, because it tends to reduce debts, whereas a growing stock keeps increasing without affecting the property taxation, maintaining its real unit value.
Certain forestry policy measures conductive to increasing the forest owner’s willingness to sell timber are suggested. Among the most promising seems to be an adjustment of the present area-based yield taxation so as to take into account the age class distribution of the growing stock.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
This study was carried out on behalf of the Central Association of Finnish Forest Industries (now Finnish Forest Industries Federation) in order to obtain information about the wood raw material situation, to serve, in turn, as a basis for the forest industries’ long-term planning. The study deals with the potential supply of roundwood, industrial residue and forest residue by the year 200 by five wood-supply areas. Examination of the situation during the period of 1972–80 is based on available balances and that concerning the period 1985–2000 in the estimated quantities available for industrial use.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The task of this study was to gather all available information concerning timber-sales behaviour of private forest owners and to try to find the probable trends in this behaviour. The initiative for the study came from the Central Association of Finnish Forest Industries.
In Finland there are areas of timber savings and those of overcutting. These are mainly explained by regional variation in prosperity of forest owners. There are also several individual factors affecting timber sales behaviour. Without major changes in forest policy the annual variation in quantity cut in Finland is increasing and the degree of cutting seem to remain below the allowable cut.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The Finnish forest industries have doubled their use of wood raw material during the past two decades. The average annual overcut of 4.0 million m3 in 1960–64 has been turned into an average annual surplus of 2.7 million m3 in 1965–69. By 1974 industry’s requirements for domestic roundwood would increase by about 6.3 million m3, if all new capacity can be taken into full production. The MERA allowable cut, if realized, would leave a 1.5 million m3 annual surplus in the forest balance in 1974. Less intensive forestry programs would mean a 1.5 to 4.4 million m3 overcut in 1974.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The goal-setting in forest policy and the means available for achieving the desired goal of forest policy are examined in this study. Examination of the goal is done using a macromodel of a closed economy. In the model GNP is assumed to be linearly dependent on the supply of raw wood. The model is used to derive the marginal conditions of the optimum equilibrium forestry with respect to the growing stock and the silviculture. The effect on the forest owners’ behaviour of the following means are examined: the taxation of ”pure income” from forestry, the taxation of income from selling raw wood, unit sales taxation and ad valorem sales taxation of forestry and corresponding sales subsidies, the support of silvicultural investments and the channelling of income from wood sales into silvicultural investments. The marginal conditions have been defined according to the maximum principle. An empirical study concerning the raw wood market in the case of softwood logs, and silvicultural investments in the case of young stand tending, has been carried out on the basis of the theoretical examination.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.