The supervisory board of AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) has approved the company's performance results for the first nine months of 2024. During the reporting period, LVM's total revenue reached 439.8 million euros, which is 8% less than in the corresponding period last year, mainly as a result of lower average selling prices for roundwood assortments and wood chips.

Zane Driņķe, Chair of the LVM supervisory board, emphasises: “Although market conditions for the Latvian forest sector have been difficult in 2024, over nine months LVM has achieved commendable results both in financial terms and in the company's operational activities. At the same time, the first nine months of the year brought outstanding results in forest regeneration and young stand tending, which will secure growth in forest productivity in the future.

After the severe storm this summer, the company was able to replan its operations within a very short time and began clearing the damage caused by the storm, and soon after completing this work it once again started welcoming visitors to the Latvijas valsts meži nature park in Tērvete.

The company has likewise continued to introduce various innovations in forest management, for example by increasing mechanised young stand tending in its commercial operations, which at the same time yields energy wood for wood chip production. With innovative solutions of this kind we strategically ensure the continuity of LVM's operations under conditions of limited labour availability.”

In the first nine months of this year the company faced a number of challenges that also affected timber supply volumes. The severe storm in July this year disrupted planned forestry operations, but by promptly replanning the work to be carried out, the company was able to meet its commitments to customers.

LVM supplies most of its wood raw material to the woodworking industry, which is largely dependent on conditions in export markets. Weak economic activity indicators in Europe, particularly in the construction sector, therefore also affected the wood raw material market and the volume of roundwood assortments sold. Processing companies around the world have reduced capacity in order to adapt to the new conditions of reduced demand.

In the first nine months of 2024, 463.2 thousand megawatt hours of wood chips were sold to Latvian heat energy producers, strengthening the country's energy independence.

Operating successfully in the market for mineral material products, in the first nine months of this year the company sold 1,011 thousand cubic metres of mineral materials and mixtures thereof, which is 68% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year. The materials offered by the company are mainly used in road construction in Latvia.

During the reporting period, construction of the Mežvidi tree nursery was completed, increasing the number of tree seedlings grown at LVM's nurseries. In the first nine months of this year a total of 47.8 million forest tree seedlings were sold, of which 41%, or 19.7 million, went to other forest owners. 5.9 million seedlings were sold to customers in Sweden and Estonia.

With the aim of increasing the value of natural capital, over nine months forest was regenerated by planting and sowing across 13.5 thousand hectares, and afforestation was carried out on 0.5 thousand hectares. Forecasts indicate that the total volume of forest regeneration in 2024, together with areas of natural regeneration, will be the largest in the company's 25 years of operation.

In the first nine months of 2024, 46.0 million euros were invested, including 58%, or 26.8 million euros, in forest infrastructure — the construction of forest roads and bridges, the restoration of forest drainage systems and the creation of timber mat roadways.

Construction work on the Rietumvidzeme regional customer centre in Valmiermuiža has also been completed, and it is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of this year. The Rietumvidzeme regional customer centre will be the third LVM office built primarily from timber — more than 400 m³ — and using a number of other sustainable and climate-neutral solutions, such as solar panels for electricity generation, heat pumps and a pellet boiler for heating the building.

During the reporting period, LVM actively continued work on two environmental projects co-financed by the European Union. In order to diversify forest stands and thereby improve water quality in the River Tora and the River Aģe basin, the riparian forest stand along the River Tora was diversified under the “LIFE GoodWater IP” project by planting more than 7,000 seedlings of various broadleaved species. Work on establishing various types of sedimentation ponds in the project area was also completed during the reporting period.

Work has likewise progressed actively under the “LIFE-IP LatViaNature” project to control the invasive Japanese rose rosa rugosa in the “Ziemupe” nature reserve. Digging out the roses began there at the end of the summer — depending on the density of the clumps, using hand tools or small and ultra-light machinery. In some places a new method of controlling the rose will also be used: targeted burning of the clumps. The aim of the work is to protect the habitats of species that are unique and rare in Latvia, as well as open coastal dune habitats, which are being suppressed by the invasive Japanese rose, and at the same time to find the most effective method of controlling the invasive plant.

In order to acquaint the public with natural processes and to explain the growing role of forestry in the national economy, this year the company has continued to run LVM's environmental education programmes for schoolchildren and young people of various ages, as well as for teachers. For example, almost 7,000 pupils and teachers took part in the “LVM Forest Expeditions” for Year 6 pupils across eight LVM regions this year.

The people of Latvia increasingly value the opportunity to relax in nature. LVM maintains more than 300 well-equipped free recreation sites: boardwalks, viewing towers and platforms, and picnic areas with shelters and fire pits, which improve the quality and accessibility of recreation for everyone interested.

Visitors also appreciate the wide range of recreational opportunities at the paid tourism sites maintained by LVM — such as the Latvijas valsts meži nature park in Tērvete, a family favourite, which has already been damaged by storms several times over the past two years. With the help of arborists and specialised machinery, the park was reopened to visitors as early as September.