Norske Skog completed the NOK 770M sale of properties at its Saugbrugs mill in Halden, Norway, to state agency NND (Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning), which needs the land to decommission the neighbouring Halden research reactor. Most of the proceeds will repay short-term debt; the mill keeps running and leases the properties until handover in 2028 (EUWID, PULPAPERnews)
Antalis signed a binding deal to buy Optigroup's Papyrus paper-distribution business in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Baltics. The business had ~€215M in 2025 sales, 255 staff, 12 warehouses and 13,000+ customers; closing awaits EU competition approvals (EUWID)
Update: Domtar will restart Howe Sound Pulp and Paper in Port Mellon, B.C., under a province-brokered deal announced Oct. 1 that saves ~400 jobs. Domtar gets steadier, cheaper fibre access, lower regulatory costs and power pricing in line with other Canadian biomass producers, in return for job and continuity commitments. The restart is targeted for mid-October with full production by Nov. 1, pending a union ratification vote next week (CP24, The Deep Dive)
Forestry & Timber
Crédit Agricole launched a forest unit, Crédit Agricole Capital Naturel, with an Amundi fund (Arbora Nova) aiming to raise €200M for forest restoration and sustainable timber in France and Europe. It is also in exclusive talks to take a majority stake in EcoTree (Fordaq)
The EU updated its EUDR customs (TARIC) guidance ahead of the Dec. 30 start for large and medium firms; most micro and small firms start June 30, 2027. New codes cover simplified declarations by small operators (C717), goods from the transition period (C718), and downstream re-imports and exports. Downstream traders only need to keep upstream reference numbers instead of doing their own due diligence (Fordaq)
Madison's Lumber Prices Index was flat at US$505/mfbm for the week of Oct. 2, down 4% (US$20) from a month earlier (Madison's)
Russian birch plywood is still reaching the EU through Turkey. Russia shipped ~2,500 m³ to Turkey in August (+9.5% y/y, US$615/m³). The EU's 15.8% anti-dumping duty, extended to Turkish and Kazakh shipments in 2024, expires in November 2026 unless a review is opened (Wood Central)
Vietnam's oak imports rose 30% to 462,400 m³ (US$277.4M, +40%) in Jan–Aug 2026. Total wood imports grew 17% to US$2.46B (Fordaq)
Romania harvested 18.85M m³ of wood in 2025 (+7.5%), according to INS data. Broadleaves made up 60% of roundwood (beech 5.58M m³, oak 1.96M m³), and firewood took 40.7% of the roundwood volume (Fordaq)
