A significant change is coming to the timber sales industry in Poland. Starting next year, the Poland's State Forests system will implement a scoring system designed to promote local wood processing, announced Deputy Minister of Climate Miko\u0142aj Doro\u017ca\u0142a. These changes aim to curb the export of unprocessed wood, with Germany being the largest recipient in recent years.<\/p>\n
In mid-March, the Ministry of Climate and Environment's management presented nine recommendations to limit the export of unprocessed wood from Poland. Deputy Minister Doro\u017ca\u0142a assured that these are being developed and will take effect in 2025. \u201cA special team in the State Forests is working on limiting the export of unprocessed wood from Poland. LP is responsible for preparing the entire concept, analyzing it, and creating mechanisms to seal the sale of wood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Doro\u017ca\u0142a explained that from the new year, the State Forests\u2019 timber sales system will include a category that will promote local timber processing. \u201cThe LP management has given a clear signal that from next year, there will be new rules for the sale of wood. An important component will be the pro-climate element. Local processing will be a separate category in the purchasing history and will be scored,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the end of June, the State Forests announced the formation of an inter-ministerial team to limit the export of wood raw material. Representatives from various ministries and agencies, including Finance, Infrastructure, Internal Affairs, Development and Technology, as well as industry bodies and port managers, will work on the new solutions.<\/p>\n
The State Forests recently informed that 14.3 million m3 of unprocessed wood were sold abroad from Poland between 2019 and 2023, with 2.2 million m3 exported last year alone. Citing calculations from the Central Statistical Office, it was reported that the largest amount of unprocessed wood was exported to Germany, totaling 5.3 million m3, or 37% of the exports during that period. Other significant recipients included \u201cother countries\u201d with 5.1 million m3 (35%) and China with 4 million m3 (28%).<\/p>\n
Most of the timber obtained by the State Forests is intended for entrepreneurs and purchased via the Forest and Wood Portal (70% of the offered volume) and the auction sales system (30%), constituting approximately 80% of the State Forests' offer. The remaining 20% goes to retail, mainly to individual customers.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneurs with a purchase history, i.e., those who have previously bought wood from LP, have access to purchases within the Forest and Wood Portal (PLD). All entrepreneurs can buy wood at system auctions, including new entities without a purchase history. Unsold wood within the Forest and Wood Portal also ends up there.<\/p>\n
Raw materials can also be purchased at e-drewno auctions, which occur continuously but involve incidental offers from forest districts, often for small quantities. Wood residues and raw materials from sanitary cuts or disaster recovery efforts are also sold here.<\/p>\n
In October 2023, the State Forests published new rules for the sale of timber for 2024-2026. In 2024, offer sale procedures will occur three times a year, instead of twice. A new scoring system related to the depth of wood processing has also been introduced.<\/p>\n
The head of the Polish Chamber of Commerce of the Timber Industry, Piotr Poziomski, expressed hope for these solutions but cautioned that many companies might not survive until the changes take effect. \u201cFor months, we have been expecting immediate intervention from the Polish government. The direction and assumptions are very good, but the legislative solutions implemented by the State Forests in cooperation with the ministry will be key,\u201d he added.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A significant change is coming to the timber sales industry in Poland. Starting next year, the Poland’s State Forests system will implement a scoring system designed to promote local wood processing, announced Deputy Minister of Climate Miko\u0142aj Doro\u017ca\u0142a. These changes … Continue reading