ukrainian news - 14.06.2007
Czech 2006 wood output highest since 1946
The Agriculture Ministry said the record-high figure was a result of a high
demand on the market for raw wood. But it was still below the overall
annual increase in the amount of wood whose reserves in Czech forests grow
steadily. Wood output at state-run company Lesy Ceske republiky, which manages
roughly 50 percent of forests in the country, reached some 9.7 million
cubic metres last year, compared with the common number of 7.5-8.0 million
cubic metres. It was caused by the fact that the firm produced at the end of 2006 part of
the volume planned for this year because of problems with tenders and
contracts for logger work for this year. Another factor was the heavy
snowfalls at the beginning of 2006 as a result of which a large volume of
fallen trees had to be processed mainly in southern Bohemia, the company
said. The amount of wood in Czech forests rose by 20.6 million cubic metres last
year, with the annual increase growing since 1990 when it reached some 17
million cubic metres. The overall wood reserves in the Czech Republic equalled 668 million cubic
metres last year, more than double the 1930 figure, the ministry said. Some experts say hunger for wood has come and demand is growing. Czech per
capita wood reserves are among the largest in Europe, but experts say that
it is desirable to keep the biggest amount of wood possible for processing
on the domestic market and export products with value added. In 2006, the Czech Republic exported roughly 3.8 million cubic metres of
raw wood worth Kc5.92bn, while imports amounted to 1.37 million cubic
metres worth Kc1.76bn. The country's surplus in foreign trade in wood rose
by 80 percent on the year to Kc4.17bn.
See also:
- — Strong price increases in Norway on saw timber
- — Timber Majors Stripped Of Customs Benefits
- — Successful Selling at Ligna+ 2007
- — Good prospects for timber trade in Finland
- — Ruukki Group to invest Euro 1.1 billion in Russian woodworking sector
