OREANDA-NEWS. October 01, 2009. The information of the Central Statistical Bureau (Latvia) on the purchase prices of significant export commodity – round timber, show that, in 2009 decrease continued, The Baltic Course reported.

Compared to the 1H 2008, purchase prices of pine sawlogs in the same period of 2009 on average reduced by 44-48%, of spruce sawlogs – by 35%, but purchase prices of thin timber types in diameter to 14cm decreased even by 48%. Purchase prices of birch and asp sawlogs on average diminished by 40-48%, and of black alder – by 11-14%.

The reduction of birch veneer log purchase prices constituted on average 50%, of black alder veneer logs – 21%, prices of matchlogs decreased by –41%, and of packing case timber – by 40%.

Compared to the 2H 2008 reduction of purchase prices in the 1H 2009 continued, but it was not as rapid as before. Purchase prices of pine sawlogs decreased by 34-37%, of spruce sawlogs – by 29-31% (of thin timber types in diameter to 14cm by 38%), but in the market of deciduous sawlogs the price reduction varied between 17 and 33%.

Purchase prices of birch veneer logs on average diminished by 38%, of black alder veneer logs – by 19%, of matchlogs – by 29%, of packing case timber – by 27%. Only the purchase prices of black alder sawlogs grew by 49%.