Increasing harvesting costs

Nyhet | Statistik - 17 June 2025

The cost of harvesting (felling and extraction to roadside) increased by 4 percent in 2024, according to new statistics from the Swedish Forest Agency and Skogforsk. The rate of increase has declined compared to the two previous years that saw increases of 9 percent in 2023 and 12 percent in 2022. However, in fixed prices the change is smaller.

During 2024 harvesting costs (in current prices), on average for the whole country, have increased by:

• 4 percent to SEK 139 per cubic metre for regeneration harvest.
• 3 percent to SEK 278 per cubic metre for thinning.

The cost increase was greater during the two previous years, when the cost of regeneration felling rose by 12 per cent in 2022 and then by 9 per cent in 2023. Adjusted for inflation by using fixed prices, the changes have been smaller. In 2024, the cost increased by 1 per cent, remained unchanged in 2023, and rose by 4 per cent in 2022. A time series with current and fixed prices is shown in the figure below.

The cost for regeneration harvests increased in both northern and southern Sweden during 2024, by 4 and 3 percent. The cost for thinning increased by 7 percent in northern Sweden and 1 percent in southern Sweden.

The Swedish Forest Agency and Skogforsk have produced these statistics since 1996. Since then, the cost of regeneration harvests in current prices has increased by 54 percent while thinning has increased by 82 per cent. In fixed prices, with the reference year 1996, the cost for regeneration felling has decreased by 5 percent since 1996 and the cost for thinning has risen by 13 percent.

Costs for silvicultural measures including pre-commercial thinning

During 2024 most costs for silviculture also increased. The costs for:

• clear-cut cleaning increased by 13 percent to SEK 2 070 per hectare
• scarification has increased by 2 percent to SEK 3 270 per hectare
• planting (including plants) has increased by 6 percent to SEK 7 480 per hectare
• sowing has increased by 11 percent to SEK 6 510 per hectare
• precommercial thinning has increased by 8 percent to SEK 3 630 per hectare
• fertilization and liming have decreased by 21 percent to SEK 3 000 per hectare

Explanation

These statistics are volume weighted or area-weighted and relate to current or fixed prices. The fixed prices have the reference year 1996 and utilises the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to adjust for inflation. Volume in cubic metre solid volume under bark.

The survey population is large scale forestry with an ownership of more than 16 000 hectares forest land or an annual felling of more than 50 000 m³.

The survey is a collaboration between the Swedish Forest Agency and Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden) and is included in Sweden’s official statistics.

For a comparison with other price developments in the economy the producer price index or home market price index is recommended, it is made available by Statistics Sweden here: 

Producer and import price index

The estimations are also available in the web-based statistical database.