Wood

Besides the food processing industry, the wood industry is one of the largest industry sectors in Estonia. Over 1,000 enterprises employing approximately 13,000 people are engaged in wood processing and the production of wood products. Enterprises are located in various places all over Estonia, mainly in rural areas. Larger enterprises are concentrated in Pärnu, Järva, Tartu, Viljandi and Võru counties. Enterprises located on the islands are smaller than the average.

The range of wood industry products is extensive, starting from the production and treatment of sawn timber to the production of wooden houses, windows and doors. The majority of employees are employed in the veneer production enterprise Balti Spoon OÜ, veneer product producer AS Technomar & Adrem and board producer AS Repo Vabrikud. The largest veneer producer is UPM Kymmene Otepää. Larger sawmills include the Stora Enso Eesti AS and AS Toftan.

The average sales turnover of the sector was 160 million EUR in the first half of 2009.

The average export turnover was 96 million EUR. In 2009, export was divided among the main export countries as follows: Finland (16.5%), Sweden (14%), Germany (13%), Norway (9%), Denmark (8%) and Japan (6%). The main groups of export articles included construction components (26%), sawn timber (22%), prefabricated buildings (17%), untreated timber (8%) and profiled timber (8%).