HELSINKI - The export of the Finnish sawn timber started to grow and the sales to China almost doubled in the second quarter of 2016, Finnish national broadcaster Yle has reported.

According to the Finnish Sawmill Industry Association, the export of saw timber has returned to the level of the last decade, and the growth rate in the first half of this year was 16 percent.

The major reason was the robust growth in the Chinese market with the export volume to China nearly doubling.

Jyri Nenonen, CEO of Kinnaskoski, a sawmill in western Finland, explained to Yle that the marketing efforts in China were strengthened and the demand of saw timber for the furniture industry in China was strong.

Because of the summer holiday season, the trend of growth will slow down in the rest of this year, but the export volume to China in the whole year of 2016 is still expected to surge by 60 percent to 70 percent.

The export to Japan also increased by 15 percent.

Meanwhile, the export to Britain was problematic as Brexit brought confusion to the British market and dramatically affected the Finnish forest industry, particularly the sawmill sector, said Nenonen.

About 10 percent of export of Finnish sawn timber was sold to Britain.

The export of Finnish sawn wood is the fourth largest in the world. Its export volume was 7.9 million cubic meters in 2015, making up 75 percent of its annual production of 10.6 million.