Shipments to countries outside Europe have increased from 27% of exports in 2007 to 43% last year, Wood Resources Quarterly reported.
The main customers have been North Africa, the Middle East, Japan, China and the US. Finnish sawmills now ship just over half of their exports to countries such as Japan and Egypt, ahead of traditional markets like the UK, France and Germany.
In the first four months of this year Finland was the second largest supplier of softwood to Japan, behind Canada, but ahead of Sweden, Russia and the US.
Sweden has made most gains in the Middle East and North Africa, up more than four-fold in the past 10 years to US$730m last year. The country has made significant gains in China and the US this year.
