The Ministry of Development intends to include wood among strategic raw materials

The Ministry of Development is working on a law that will, among other things, define wood as a raw material of strategic importance for the Polish economy, said Krzysztof Paszyk, head of the Ministry of Development, during a press conference on Friday. The planned solutions are also intended to limit the export of wood outside the EU.

The head of the Ministry of Development and Technology recalled that in March this year he committed to creating such a law and - as he emphasized - assumptions were developed, on the basis of which he would like to create "an act in the coming weeks". He added that they are the result of cooperation between the ministry and the industry.

The Minister explained that it is primarily about including wood among the strategic raw materials for the Polish economy, "in order to ensure the appropriate quantity and access to wood". Paszyk said that the ministry wants to take similar actions at the European Union level, which would aim to limit the export of wood outside the EU countries. "This is a big problem today. A lot of wood disappears from the market, for example to China", noted the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The act is also to include preferences and support mechanisms for local wood processing. This is - as the minister pointed out - a postulate of the industry, which has a problem with access to wood. "We want to respect and continue to create conditions for the development of these Polish, family, good, highly valued films" - he explained. In addition, the ministry wants to implement a system for tracking the origin of wood. "We want to know where this wood was obtained, in order to limit the harmful speculation in wood raw materials" - emphasized Paszyk.

One of the assumptions of the act that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is working on is also the obligation to regularly review audits of wood resources. The Minister expressed hope that these actions will provide an impulse for the development of the wood industry.

He recalled that in the current legal reality, each cubic meter of wood that leaves the forest has a specific identification. In the opinion of the head of MRiT, this system is not tight, because "some of this wood disappears from this register", therefore - as he said - it is crucial to take actions that will "very clearly allow monitoring where this wood ends up". He added that often the raw material leaving Poland returns to it later in the form of Chinese furniture.

In turn, the deputy minister of climate and environment, Miłosz Motyka, indicated that the solution to this situation could be non-price rules rewarding solutions based on the use of raw materials within the country. "We believe that the supply chain should be (...) shortened, which will also ensure the development of this industry here," said Motyka.

He also pointed out that last year there was a decrease in timber exports, which - as he explained - resulted from a larger number of orders on the domestic market. Motyka believes that despite this decrease, systemic solutions are needed to protect Polish entrepreneurs. "The trend (of exports - PAP) is different, recently positive for the Polish industry, but to maintain it, systemic solutions are needed" - emphasized the deputy minister of climate. (PAP)

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