The fluctuations in prices were particularly marked in the damaged wood hotspot of Upper Carinthia, where prices fell from around €117/m³ to €80/m³ in the autumn. Gruber highlighted that southern Austria recorded substantial volumes of damaged wood in 2023, especially the forestry district Obervellach in the Mölltal with 40,000 m³. The ÖBf invested almost €7 million in measures against bark beetle infestation.
Rigorous beetle control
Andreas Gruber, member of the board of the ÖBf © ÖBf/Lukas Beck
Gruber emphasized the effectiveness of the measures against the pest, especially in the Waldviertel region, where the ÖBf managed to bring the beetle infestation under control within three years. Despite a challenging situation in Upper Carinthia and Upper Styria, every log, which has been identified as a beetle-infested tree, is harvested. In 2023, those trees accounted for around 55% of the total harvest of 1.9 million m³.
The ÖBf are characterized by their reliability in delivery, even in months with high demand. Gruber underlined the importance of state-of-the-art technology and careful coordination of the twelve forestry companies when it comes to achieving delivery precision, which leads to good prices and revenues. The company sees itself as a wood supplier, and not just as a seller.
Good revenue in 2023 wood sales
For 2023, Gruber reported a clearly positive result in the forestry/wood division and a continuation of the upward trend which started in 2022 (Note: 2022 was the first positive year in several years). The ÖBf’s plans for the future include an increase in premature felling to make forests more diverse in terms of the species that grow there. This includes training employees in addition to those in the service division and increasing the number of cable cranes, for which €4 to 5 million are earmarked over the next three to five years.
In the damaged wood hotspots of Upper Carinthia, the ÖBf is pursuing a sophisticated hunting strategy which aims at promoting natural regeneration and is supported by a total of 50 hunters employed by the company. Gruber sees the increase in premature felling as a means of strengthening the stability of forest stands. In addition to that, targeted silvicultural and forestry measures are taken to make forests as biodiverse as possible. Talking about the situation in ten years from now, Gruber predicts that harvest volumes will be similar those of today as there is only slow progress in changing the structure and composition of forests.
CO2 or wood sales?
Towards the end of the interview, Gruber commented on the long-term prospects of CO2 storage and wood sales. Despite the development of CO2 storage capacities in forests, for example by protecting moors, Gruber is convinced that “the bioeconomy is a central building block of climate protection. And for this purpose, we will continue to use our forests and supply wood in the future.”
