Poland\u2019s State Forests plans to offer 37.7 million m\u00b3 of timber in 2027, slightly more than this year, under new sales rules that tighten checks on buyers\u2019 processing declarations and retain inflation as a factor in setting base prices. For sawmills and other wood processors, the modest increase comes while profitability remains weak and access to suitable raw material continues to divide the industry.<\/p>\n
The framework, signed on 5 October, covers 2027\u20132028. It preserves the main purchasing system: 75% of the principal offer pool will be allocated through offer-based sales and 25% through system auctions. Buying will remain divided into two six-month periods.<\/p>\n
The biggest changes concern how companies substantiate their processing activities and where auctions take place. All online sales procedures will be brought into the Forest and Timber Portal, known as PLD. Portal Le\u015bno-Drzewny<\/p>\n
More timber on paper, little change in the main industrial pool<\/strong><\/p>\n The planned volume of 37.7 million m\u00b3 is approximately 500,000 m\u00b3, or 1.3%, above the 2026 plan. However, the principal pool used for offer-based sales and system auctions rises by only around 100,000 m\u00b3, to 30.8 million m\u00b3.<\/p>\n That pool contains 26.4 million m\u00b3 of softwood and 4.4 million m\u00b3 of hardwood. Larger percentage increases are planned for timber reserved for ongoing auctions and for wood residues, while the retail allocation falls.<\/p>\n For industrial buyers, the distinction matters. An increase in total sales does not necessarily mean a comparable increase in the species, grades and dimensions needed by a particular mill. A sawmill buying softwood sawlogs and a flooring producer dependent on oak can face very different procurement conditions within the same national plan.<\/p>\n Poland\u2019s wood industry association, PIGPD, has already reported severe pressure in oak. In February, it said the volume of the main industrial oak assortment offered for the first half of 2026 was 17.3% below the corresponding 2025 allocation. Compared with the first half of 2024, available quantities were down 24.8%, while average prices were up 15.5%.<\/p>\n The association attributes the shortage partly to harvesting restrictions and has warned that limited supply is damaging the competitiveness of domestic processors. Those concerns relate specifically to oak and should not be read as a uniform trend across all timber categories.<\/p>\n Processing claims will face tougher checks<\/strong><\/p>\n The new framework continues to give buyers a choice between bids assessed solely on price and bids that also receive points for processing and purchasing geography.<\/p>\n Under the second option, price accounts for 75% of the assessment. The share of timber processed, the extent of processing and purchasing geography make up the remainder.<\/p>\n Companies claiming these additional points must provide evidence supporting their declarations. Refusing an audit, failing document verification or missing the auditor\u2019s deadline will mean losing access to the non-price assessment option for one complete sales period. A repeat refusal or failed verification within two years will extend that exclusion to two periods.<\/p>\n The company can still submit price-only bids. The penalty therefore removes an advantage in purchasing rather than imposing a complete ban on buying timber.<\/p>\n For processors, this makes documentation part of procurement planning. Claims about processing operations must be supported before a company can rely on those points when competing for supply.<\/p>\n Price formula offers no automatic relief<\/strong><\/p>\n Base prices for 2027 will start from the levels used in the second half of 2026, adjusted for forecast inflation and taking account of prices achieved above the base level in those sales procedures.<\/p>\n Local units retain some flexibility to adjust prices in consultation with regional management, according to market conditions and local circumstances. The framework does not announce a uniform price increase, but neither does it provide an automatic reduction for buyers facing weak finished-product demand.<\/p>\n Contract obligations also remain largely unchanged. Buyers generally need to take at least 90% of contracted volumes; falling below that threshold can trigger a penalty of 10% of the net value of the uncollected timber. Secured payment terms remain 14, 21 or 30 days, with extensions to 60 days possible subject to approval and interest beyond 30 days.<\/p>\n These conditions leave companies balancing supply security against the risk of committing to more timber than their order books justify.<\/p>\n Polish producers have little room to absorb extra costs<\/strong><\/p>\n The procurement changes arrive during an uneven recovery. Bank Pekao\u2019s September assessment found that Polish wood-product output rose 2% year on year in the first half of 2026, while furniture production fell 5%.<\/p>\n Higher output has not translated into comfortable margins. Around 30% of wood companies and 37% of furniture companies were loss-making. Sawmilling results improved from a particularly weak first half of 2025, but wooden flooring remained under heavy pressure, with nearly half of companies recording losses.<\/p>\n Pekao also identified raw-material availability as a constraint for roughly one in seven wood companies, despite subdued demand. It said Poland had lost earlier raw-material cost advantages and noted that electricity prices were above the EU average.<\/p>\n PIGPD has raised a separate concern about timber measurement and acceptance standards introduced in 2026. The association argues that the changes can increase recorded volumes while reducing the usable material received by processors. It has requested corrections, making clear that the cost of timber depends on production yield as well as the invoiced price per cubic meter.<\/p>\n The 2027 plan gives buyers a timetable and a slightly larger national allocation. Whether it improves conditions for Polish mills will depend on what timber is available locally, the prices set for individual assortments and how much saleable product companies can obtain from each delivery.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Poland\u2019s State Forests plans to offer 37.7 million m\u00b3 of timber in 2027, slightly more than this year, under new sales rules that tighten checks on buyers\u2019 processing declarations and retain inflation as a factor in setting base prices. For … Continue reading