Cutting off supplies of wooden semi-finished products from Ukraine and Russia may be a problem for some of the furniture industry in Poland. Some companies will face a production slowdown due to a lack of components. However, the entire industry is not in danger of collapsing, reassures Rafa\u0142 Szefler, director of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for the Wood Industry.<\/p>\n
In 2020, Poland imported wood and wood articles from Ukraine worth approximately PLN 1 billion (EUR 206 million), with exports of PLN 209 million (EUR 43 million). In Ukraine, factories of companies from the furniture and wood industry, such as Barlinek or Black Red White, are located. Our eastern neighbor is also one of the largest exporters of wood to the European Union. The war in Ukraine will have an impact on the companies that used the raw material there in the production of furniture and wooden products.<\/p>\n
''Situation isn't binary. We almost do not import round timber from Ukraine - we used to import a lot of oak, but Ukraine imposed quotas on this raw material - but we import finished semi-finished products for further production. And here we can have a very big problem, because there is a risk of breaking the supply chains - says Interia Rafa\u0142 Szefler, director of the Polish Chamber of Commerce of the Wood Industry. He also notes that \"the east of Ukraine is still standing\". The largest plants of Ukrainian oligarchs are located near Kharkiv. \"There is no production up there at the moment,\" says Szefler.<\/p>\n
Russia is also a large supplier of sawn timber and semi-finished products on the Polish market. According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, in 2020 the import of Russian wood and wood products was worth over PLN 0.5 billion (EUR 103 million). In this context, one should not forget about Belarus as well. ''There we have one of the largest Polish furniture manufacturers that has opened its factory in Belarus. We also imported a lot of semi-finished products from there,''\u00a0Szefler says. EU sanctions will rule out further trade cooperation between Polish companies and their eastern partners.<\/p>\n
No risk of collapse<\/strong><\/p>\n Cutting off supplies of wooden semi-finished products from Ukraine and Russia may mean trouble for some of the furniture industry in Poland and slow down production. Polish plants producing semi-finished products will not be able to fully take over the orders that companies have so far carried out in the East. ''One of the companies imports from Russia 40 to 60 semi-finished cars a month. These are huge numbers, and there are many such companies,'' points out the director of PIGPD.<\/p>\n Szefler, however, reassures that the cut-off will not jeopardize the production of Polish furniture. It means serious production problems for at least a few plants that were supplied with semi-finished products in Ukraine and Russia. On the other hand, the breakdown of supply chains may mean an opportunity for Polish companies that can complete the missing links in the furniture production of other importers of semi-finished products from the East.<\/p>\n The workers are leaving<\/strong><\/p>\n The director of PIGPD indicates that he is receiving signals from industry companies about the departure of Ukrainian workers who return to their homeland to fight the aggressor. - Of course, no one makes any problems. The departing people are provided with food and the most necessary things. ''Everyone is waiting for them to come back alive and well,'' emphasizes Szefler. He adds that many companies have made apartments available for the families of those of their employees who decided to bring their relatives from Ukraine.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cutting off supplies of wooden semi-finished products from Ukraine and Russia may be a problem for some of the furniture industry in Poland. Some companies will face a production slowdown due to a lack of components. However, the entire industry … Continue reading