Dry firewood in Estonia all sold out as deep winter freeze continues
Stocks of dry firewood have sold out with winter still in full swing.
Those needing to buy more wood must settle for undried, fresher or green wood
The shortage is more the result of people buying up stocks in advance, locally, rather than people out looking for replenishment while the cold weather continues.
Firewood is sold by the cubic meter, and "Aktuaalne kaamera" cited prices of the €75-€80 per cubic meter level.
How long a cubic meter lasts depends hugely on variables such as the size of a dwelling and what it is made of, insulation quality, the type of wood being used etc., but a rough rule of thumb could be around 10 cubic meters needed for an entire winter. With the current cold winter a cubic meter is going to last between one and two weeks.
Outside Kuusalu, east of Tallinn, a local sawmill owner was clearing logging residues in the forest to turn into wood chips when "Aktuaalne kaamera" visited. Taavi Rada, owner of the Hirvli sawmill, said he has a couple of dozen regular customers, but as of now if any of them ask for dry firewood, he has to say no, adding he has not even been able to dry out.
"At the moment we only have fresh wood; we don't have any dry left. This year we didn't even make dry wood. In previous years the sales of dry wood were so poor that we've shifted more toward selling fresh wood," Rada said.
Local resident Tarmo Kamm meanwhile said he had been drying out firewood for over 30 years now, both wood grown on the seven and a half hectares of forest he owns himself, plus that which he buys from RMK-owned state forest. The price of the latter goes up a couple of euros every year, he noted.
Kamm said that while he did have dry wood in stock, that all goes to his own needs and those of his family circle, though strangers have driven into his yard to ask whether he has any firewood on sale. In that case, however, the price would match the scarcity. "A lot have come by. They drive into the yard and ask if you're selling firewood. I say, do you want to buy? And when you tell them the price, they then don't want to. Dry wood is expensive," he explained.
Foresters say the mild winters of recent years also gave little incentive to prepare more by stocking up on more dry firewood.
A further issue is the soaring electricity prices, which make sawing and splitting firewood, done electrically when a large-scale job, too costly to be economical.
"The electricity price is so high that right now there's no point in sawing and splitting using the electricity. I can saw in advance with a [petrol] chainsaw, but I still have to split with electricity. It's a four-kilowatt motor – you do the math," Kamm went on.
Briquettes and pellets also require a high input of electricity in their production, hence these being in short supply too, wholesalers confirmed.
The current winter has brought temperatures among the lowest seen for around a quarter of a century. Snowfall in places has not been particularly high, however, even as the snowpack can bring an insulating effect.
Popular if often costly woods for burning at home include Lepp (alder) and Kask (birch).
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Valner Väino
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Vahur Lauri.
