Firewood boom past: Forest sales drop drastically in Heilbronn!

Firewood boom past: Forest sales drop drastically in Heilbronn!

In the forests of the Heilbronn region, there is a lot of hustle and bustle again - the wood strike has started. This is the time in which part of the harvest is marketed as a coveted firewood. This is particularly in demand for private users who mostly buy them close to wood. The euphoria of recent years, triggered by the energy crisis after the Russian attack on Ukraine, seems to be over, as foresters report.

After several exceptional years, in which the demand for firewood has risen, there is now a declining trend. Jürgen Kuhn from the wooden sale of the Heilbronn district office notes that 2022 and 2023 were characterized by unusual demand, even order upper limits had to be set up. The border in Obersulm was ten festival meters. However, these restrictions no longer seem to be necessary, as Florian Fiedler from Forst BW reports.

assessment of the market situation

The forestry year report 2023/2024 shows that the wood requirement has stabilized. "Many stocked up with wood in 2023," explains Kuhn, while a mild winter further reduces consumption. Holger Betz, managing director of fuel Emil Betz GmbH, confirms that his company still has sufficient supplies and expects the firewood sales to decrease. Another factor that influences demand is the cheap oil price, as noted by Heinz Steiner, head of the Heilbronn-West forest area.

The price increase for firewood has been striking in recent years. Particularly popular woods such as beech, oak and ash have multiplied in the price; A solid meter of beech costs 90 euros today. This is in stark contrast to the prices five years ago, where the same amount only cost 57 euros. Betz also warns for caution: The forest is expensive compared to imported wood, which also contains the market because it attaches importance to sustainable procurement.

rising costs and new sales strategies

Christian Feldmann, who is responsible for Forst BW, points out that the costs for the wooden harvest have risen - from diesel prices to wages. The thinner wood requires more effort, which in turn affects economy. To keep the hat full, Forst BW relies on online sales. Wood and photo and price are offered on your website, customers can easily order online and receive a card with the pick -up location.

With this new facility, which the city of Heilbronn also uses, a simple shopping is created. From this week there will also be a “marketplace” at www.holzfinder.de to further improve wood sales. Traditional live auctions, such as those took place in Obersulm, have lost importance as a result of digitization. "Unfortunately, something is lost from tradition," says treasurer Margit Birkicht, while the hunt for new buyers remains complicated.

Forestry has been facing structural change for years. At 1085 hectares, the city of Heilbronn is its own forest area, the 2023 wood strike was in a total of 8066 solid meters, of which 2189 were solid meters. This brought in a significant revenue of 105,780 euros. The far larger municipal forest in the Heilbronn district comprises 16,000 hectares and recorded a total of 28,100 solid meters in the top year of 2023, which generated about 2.4 million euros in income.

The current developments in forestry show how strongly the demand for firewood and the price calculation of global events are influenced. Extremely agile action is required because forestry has to adapt to the needs of consumers and the challenges of the market. The foresters from the region expect a return to normality in firewood sales, such as according to information from www.stimme.de is indicated.