Released on: August 25, 2008, 4:28 am

Press Release Author: Hakan Ekstrom

Industry: Agriculture

Press Release Summary: The wood costs, which typically account for almost 50% of the
production costs for a pulpmill, often determine a region's or company's
competitiveness.


Press Release Body: Seattle, US, August 25, 2008 -- Wood fiber costs, the major cost
component when producing wood pulp, increased in practically all major
pulp-producing regions around the world in the 2Q/08, according to the market report
Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). This was both a result of a continued weakening of
the US dollar against most major currencies and because of higher transport costs
for both pulpwood and wood chips.

The wood costs, which typically account for almost 50% of the production costs for a
pulpmill, often determine a region's or company's competitiveness. The average
global conifer wood price reached a new all-time-high of US$112.53/odmt (oven-dry
metric ton) in the 2Q/08. This was up 11% from 2007 and 26% higher than two years
ago.

The only exception to this price trend was in North America, where softwood pulplog
prices fell between 1-6% from the previous quarter, depending on region. The fall
occurred secondary to increases in log supply combined with slightly lower demand
for wood. The largest price increases came in Europe, Brazil, Russia and Australia,
where supply of both roundwood and chips became tighter. With the slump in the
lumber markets in North America and Europe, the supply of residual chips from
sawmills continued to decline, resulting in increased competition and higher
reliance on the more expensive wood fiber from roundwood.

The average non-conifer wood fiber costs were also up in the 2Q, reaching a
record-high of US$108.77/odmt, which was up 16% from a year ago and 23% higher than
in 2006. Some of the largest increases have occurred in Brazil where costs for
pulpwood traded in the open market have increased over 300 % in five years in US
dollar terms, and more than 200 % as measured in the Brazilian Reais.

The Global Average Wood Fiber Price is a weighted average of delivered wood fiber
prices for the pulp industry in 17 regions tracked by the publication Wood Resource
Quarterly. These regions together account for 85-90% of the world's wood-based pulp
production capacity.

The higher cost of producing pulp the past few years has to a large extent been
passed on to wood pulp consumers. Market pulp prices have almost doubled since 2003
and are currently at the highest level in 13 years.

Global pulpwood and sawlog market updates are included in the 50-page publication
Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with readers in over 20
countries, tracks wood prices in most regions around the world and also includes
regular updates of international pulp, lumber and biomass markets.
Press release Submission by PressReleasePoint(http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/)

Contact Information:

Wood Resources International
Hakan Ekstrom
info@wri-ltd.com
www.woodprices.com

Press Contact:

Hakan Ekstrom
Wood Resources International
P.O Box 1891
Bothell, WA 98041
USA
hekstrom@wri-ltd.com
1 425 402 8809
http://www.woodprices.com

Web Site: http://www.woodprices.com

Contact Details: Hakan Ekstrom
Wood Resources International
P.O Box 1891
Bothell, WA 98041
USA
hekstrom@wri-ltd.com
1 425 402 8809
http://www.woodprices.com