The first estimates show that some four million cubic metres of trees were affected by the sleet or about half a million hectares of the country's forests.

Four million cubic metres of trees is also roughly Slovenia's annual wood production.

Oražem explains that some 30% is used for energy, over a third is exported and a third is used by the wood-processing industry.

"Supply will considerably exceed domestic demand, so the problem is what to do with all the wood," says Oražem.

He believes foreigners will most likely buy a great share of the available wood. "This will be a market opportunity for neighbouring countries."

While broken trees could be used for simpler products such as wooden panels and cellulose, the country has practically no more factories producing wooden panels and cellulose.

Oražem says that most of the wood will have to be processed, yet some will also be used for heating.

Domestic companies which currently import wood for energy, such as cogeneration plant Toplarna Ljubljana, could use some.

In his view, the government should perhaps consider limiting the import of wood for energy use from non-EU countries.

While admitting that "the wood lying on the ground has lost its price", Oražem says it is hard to say how much prices will fall.

But he hopes the price of good-quality wood would probably not change much.

He has announced that in order to make a more detailed estimate of the damage, the Forest Service will probably ask the Defence Ministry to help with aerial photo.

"But in order to do that, we need a day or two of sunny weather, which is hard to expect in the next few days."

Oražem also says that teams of forest rangers will be going to the woods as early as next week to assess the damage.

He fears however that the estimates of the damage could even worsen.

He says a plan to repair the damage to the woods will be ready in two months, setting down all relevant measures to secure their development.

Touching on the costs, Oražem says the Forest Service does not have the means (neither money nor staff) to deal with such devastating consequences of natural disasters.

"The sleet demands many people on the ground and brings additional costs. We will notify the Agriculture Ministry about what we need, looking forward to a positive response."

Of a total of 12,000 kilometres of roads through the woods in the country, more than half have also been damaged.

Slovenia is one of the most forested countries in Europe.

According to the Forest Service wesbite, it has 1.12 million hectares of forests, meaning that almost 60% of its territory is covered in woods.