The business situation of hardwood sawmills in Germany has been developing remarkably positively for a few weeks now, as the current quarterly report of the German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association (DeSH) shows.\u00a0However, a tense roundwood supply and felling bans on beech trees in some federal states are increasingly unsettling the industry.\u00a0It is not foreseeable how long the urgently needed positive market development can be maintained without sufficient supply.<\/p>\n
In the current DeSH survey, almost half of the hardwood companies state that there was not enough wood available for processing in the 4th quarter of 2021.\u00a0For 37% of those questioned, the production level could just be maintained.\u00a0This development is not new.\u00a0Despite numerous political declarations of intent to use more products made of hardwood with a view to forest conversion, the supply of the hardwood-based industry in Germany has been problematic since 2017.\u00a0\"Especially in Hesse, the situation has deteriorated significantly again.\u00a0Right now, in the high season, the felling of beeches in areas that are over 100 years old is being stopped completely.<\/p>\n
The situation in the other federal states is similar.\u00a0\u201cThe domestic sawmill and timber industry is being deprived of its livelihood through usage restrictions, direct energetic use and the export of raw materials.\u00a0But it is precisely this that must be ensured by politicians if they do not want to endanger jobs, value creation and ultimately the climate and sustainability goals,\" says Schmidt and continues: \"Although the proportion of hardwood trees in German forests has increased for 40 years increases, only around a third of the volume of hardwood logs is available for processing in Germany \u2013 and the trend is continuing to decline.\u201d<\/p>\n
An industry that is deprived of raw materials inevitably disappears.\u00a0\"The regional value chain in particular, from the forest owner, to the sawmill industry, the furniture and flooring industry, in the wood trade to marketing and trade, is a green, sustainable economy with the renewable raw material wood it processes, which creates jobs and added value in mostly rural regions ', concludes Schmidt.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The business situation of hardwood sawmills in Germany has been developing remarkably positively for a few weeks now, as the current quarterly report of the German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association (DeSH) shows.\u00a0However, a tense roundwood supply and felling bans … Continue reading