03.08.2024. / 16:00
SARAJEVO – Bosnia and Herzegovina is experiencing a sharp drop in exports in the wood industry. This information might seem unusual to the layman, but to those in the know the matter is clear: previous decisions have come back to us like a boomerang.
PHOTO: Pixabay
And according to the announcements of the leading people of the wood industry and forestry sector from different areas, there is no better time in sight in the industry, which has about 15,000 people in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina alone.
Along with the metal and electrical industries, the wood industry is the backbone of our country’s exports, and these two branches together account for about 50 percent of total exports from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to data from March – the value of exports of the wood industry of BiH last year amounted to 1,592,465,387 KM, which is 12.3 percent less than the previous year, while imports amounted to 522,761,631 KM, which is 11 percent less than in 2022.
Customers are asking for additional terms
President of the Forestry and Wood Industry Group at the Chamber of Commerce of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vildan Hajić, explains that there were some indications that this crisis might occur in the wood industry, but that no one expected it to last this long.
He states that the current situation is very bad and the processing of the product is not going well, which should only become apparent later.
“The collection is very slow, customers ask for additional terms from abroad so that people have currency for 60 to 90 days, and some even more. In the past period, we had an advance payment”he explained.
As he says, the crisis at the time of the coronavirus was a boomerang for what is happening now.
“Inflation took place in which the price of sawn timber increased abnormally. Let’s say, the normal price is 200 euros, so suddenly it was 400 euros. It was never like that. It’s true, it led to an increase in wages, but then last year happened when ‘everything comes back'”explains Hajić.
Now a serious problem has arisen in the wood industry with an emphasis on forestry. The demand is not as before and the goods are not going well.
In previous years, there was a lot of pressure when it comes to firewood and the supply itself, while today companies have thousands of cubic meters of that wood that nobody wants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is also one of the absurdities, says Hajić.
Foreign companies lost confidence
The Secretary of the Association of Forestry, Wood Processing and Graphic Activities at the FBiH Chamber of Commerce, Mirsad Hubanić, underlines that our country is the leader of Southeast Europe in the production and marketing of furniture. More than 1,000 companies from the wood industry are present in FBiH alone, with around 15,000 employees.
Last year, this industry had more than 600 million KM of exports.
Nevertheless, Hubanić recalls the decision of the BiH Council of Ministers from two years ago, when the export of certain forest wood assortments, firewood and wood products was prohibited (in order to ensure the necessary quantities and eliminate the threat of serious or irreparable damage to forests in BiH ).
It was precisely this that disrupted international trade and some contracts were terminated.
“In these business arrangements, it is much more difficult to renew old contracts than to prepare new ones because the buyer on the international scene has lost trust in our companies, not understanding the attitude of our government that energy sources should be protected”he states and notes that this did not lead to any effects, except in the case of roundwood.
However, unlike Hajić, he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. The reason is because BiH companies are very adaptive, hardworking and do not give up. He also mentions how global conditions also affect our market. He expects stabilization of the market, not only on the European, but also on the world scene.
“It is to be expected that the trend, which is now in stagnation, will move in a positive direction”he adds.
Some workers lost their jobs
Lejla Ćatić from the Independent Union of Forestry, Wood and Paper Processing says that this crisis has been going on since the middle of last year.
“There was a drop in production in forestry and the wood and paper industry, as well as in the marketing of goods. This happened due to disruptions in the German market, where we are most oriented, but also due to the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.”she explained.
Recession and crisis, however, began to be felt in this market at the beginning of 2024.
“There has also been a reduction in workers in some companies, and some of them have been assigned to other activities”notes Ćatić.
He explains that, as a consequence, salaries had to be reduced and some were left without a job. According to data from April, there was a decrease in the number of workers in the sectors of forestry, forest exploitation, furniture production, etc. However, the opposite situation occurred in the paper and pulp production sector.
“As for salaries, there were some corrections. There are certain disturbances that, for example, they are late, but they are not big, they try to settle all these obligations”, concluded Ćatić. Klix.ba
Source: www.capital.ba
