Helsinki, Finland 04 March 2010 -- Stora Enso expects to begin temporarily shutting down its Finnish mills in the near future due to the strike by the stevedores at Finnish ports.

The effect of the strike on Stora Enso's financial results is estimated to be approximately EUR 2.5 million per day. “The impact of the strike will be wide and indefinite. The strike will severely tarnish the reputation of the Finnish forest products industry and its whole value chain,” said Juha Vanhainen, Stora Enso country manager, Finland.

Stora Enso, a world leader in forest industry sustainability, offer its customers solutions based on renewable raw materials. the company's products provide climate-friendly alternatives to many nonrenewable materials, and have a smaller carbon footprint. Stora Enso is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Index. Stora Enso employs some 27,000  people worldwide, and had sales in 2009 of EUR 8.9 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market.