Economic Accounts for Forestry

The total output value of the forestry industry reached about €1.7 bn, of which the goods characteristic of the forestry and logging activity (comprising live forest tree plants, forest trees, sawlogs, industrial roundwood and raw timber for energetic use) accounted for about 80.6% and other goods and services (forestry services, inseparable secondary activities and other products) for about 19.4%. With a timber harvest volume of 16.8 million cubic metres under bark (-11.2%; cf. Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism (2021): Annual timber felling report 2020) and significantly lower timber prices the output value of goods characteristic of the forestry and logging activity fell by 14.7% to about €1.4 bn. Both the output value of sawlogs (-18.3%) and industrial roundwood (-23.1%) suffered a significant decline, while the output value for raw timber for energetic use dropped by 5.3%. The output value of sawlogs amounted to a total of €0.5 bn, the output value of industrial roundwood to a total of €0.1 bn and the output value of raw timber for energetic use to a total of about €0.3 bn. The output value of live forest trees (net increment of timber) amounted to €0.4 bn, decreasing by 13.9% compared to 2019. Following last year’s steep increase the services characteristic of the forestry and logging activity remained at a high level, accounting for 15.6% of the value of the forestry industry’s output (-8.9% compared to 2019). Non-forestry secondary activities (inseparable), comprising 3.2% of the output value, decreased by 2.2%. Other products, which accounted for only 0.6% of the value of the forestry industry’s output, increased by 5.9%.

The value of intermediate consumption fell by 12.1% to €1 bn. The costs encompass the use of standing timber amounting to €0.3 bn (-23.7%). Fixed capital consumption amounted to €0.2 bn (+1.2%).

Gross value added at basic prices (calculated from the output of the forestry industry minus intermediate consumption) declined by 15%. The decrease in net value added at basic prices, i.e. after deduction of fixed capital consumption, was 19.6% and of factor income 17,4%. Net entrepreneurial income slumped by 29.7%. The share of net entrepreneurial income in the output value of the forestry industry decreased to 15,4% (decennial average 2011-2020: 25,8%)

Methodology

The Economic Accounts for Forestry represent a satellite account of the System of Integrated Economic Accounts. Their main purpose is to analyse the production process in forestry and the primary income generated therein. The EAF were set up in Austria in 2001, in accordance with the requirements of Eurostat Handbook for Economic Accounts for Agriculture and Forestry EEA/EAF 97 (Rev.1.1). In 2019 the economic accounts of forestry were revised completely and the methodology according to the European Forest Accounts (EFA questionnaire, table B.1. on economic indicators of the forestry and logging activity) was adopted. Further information can be found in the methodological notes on EAF (in German only).

The EAF results presented here are based on the database available at the beginning of July 2021. Since for several data the latest information is not available, the results for 2020 are still provisional.

Regional Accounts for Forestry (Regional EAF) at NUTS 2 level - Results for the Länder (federal provinces) for 2019

The main producers of forestry output in Austria are Lower Austria, Styria, Upper Austria and Carinthia. In 2019, 26.1% of the total output value of the forestry industry of about €2.2 bn was generated in Lower Austria and 23.0% in Styria. Upper Austria contributed 17.1% and Carinthia 15.1%. Tyrol accounted for 7.3%, Salzburg for 5.7%, Burgenland for 3.5%, Vorarlberg for 2.0% and Vienna for 0.2%.

In comparison to the previous year, the value of the forestry industry’s output declined in all federal provinces, with the strongest decreases in Vorarlberg (-20.6%) and Styria (-19.3%). Rates of decline similar to the national average (-11.0%) were reported in Burgenland (-12.0%), Salzburg (-11.2%), Carinthia (-10.6%) and Vienna (-10.1%). Losses below the federal mean were recorded in Lower Austria (-7.9%), Tyrol (-4.9%) und Upper Austria (-4.0%).

Gross value added of the forestry industry also suffered the sharpest decreases in Styria (-17.2%) and Vorarlberg (-17.1%), followed by Salzburg (-13.3%), Carinthia (-12.5%) and Tyrol (-11.2%). Losses in Burgenland (-9.4%), Lower Austria (-8.2%), Upper Austria (-2.4%) and Vienna (-0.9%) lay below the national average (-10.8%).

Methodology

In addition to the Economic Accounts for Forestry (EAF) for Austria, the Regional Accounts for Forestry provide data on the economic situation in forestry at the level of the Länder (federal provinces). They highlight regional disparities, and provide data on the contribution made by the individual federal provinces to the total output value and value added of domestic forestry.

Data of the Regional Accounts for Forestry for a reference year (n) are published in October of the year n+1. The current data for 2019 for the federal provinces are provisional. They are consistent with the EAF revision status as at October 2020.