The benefits for Metsä Group's contract customers will get even better when Metsä Group reforms its price guarantee method for wood trade, making it more transparent. Metsä Group's price guarantee applies to wood trade made by contract customers between 1 December and 31 May each year. Metsä Group offers its contract customers a price guarantee for wood trade tied to a regional price index. The wood prices will be adjusted if prices increase by the end of the October following the closing of the sale. Any additional payments will be made at the beginning of the following year. The price guarantee model offers Metsä Group's contract customers security and reduces the risk of price changes.

As a change to the previous price guarantee model, in the new model, the contract customer can monitor the monthly price development related to their wood trade in the form of the Metsä Group price guarantee index. The price guarantee index can be viewed in the Metsäverkko service for standing and delivery sales by procurement district, and it is specific to the wood grade, felling method and harvestability. Metsä Group's price guarantee procedure is regularly audited by an external party to increase the system's reliability and ensure that the calculation of the price guarantee is fair and accurate.

"Our goal is to offer our contract customers wood trade benefits that are genuinely valuable to them. With the reform of the price guarantee model, we're seeking to further improve the customer experience in wood trade by increasing the transparency of the price guarantee for our contract customers. The price guarantee model also encourages wood trade during the typically quieter winter months," says Jani Riissanen, SVP, Wood Trade and Forest Services, Metsä Group.

A developer community consisting of the owner-members of Metsä Group's parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative has participated in the development work for the new price guarantee method.

Metsä Group will inform its current contract customers of the change in the price guarantee model during October and November 2024. The new price guarantee model will be reviewed individually with each contract customer in connection with the next wood trade at the latest.