Director General of State Forestry (PL) Witold Koss asked the Ministry of Climate and Environment to propose changes to legislation that would limit the export of raw wood from Poland outside the European Union. The proposal includes changes to the Law on Preservation of the National Character of the Country's Strategic Natural Resources and the Law on Competition and Consumer Rights Protection.
The main idea is to recognize wood as a strategic raw material. It is proposed to introduce a ban on the export of wood from Poland outside the EU countries, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area for three years - from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2028. Violation of the ban involves imprisonment or a fine of up to 5 million euros.
Koss noted that the ministry will urgently deal with this matter. If agreed, the changes to the law should enter into force as soon as possible, so that they will take effect from 2025. He added that new rules for the sale of wood will come into effect next year.
Derzlis noted that the Polish forest industry has been complaining about the shortage of raw materials for years, which amounts to 3-4 million cubic meters annually, and this shortage is covered by imports. Koss emphasized that State Forestry does not export wood from Poland, this is done by intermediaries who legally buy raw materials from LPs and then sell them to third countries. They have no legal grounds to prohibit them from doing so.
In 2019-2023, 14.3 million tons of raw wood were sold abroad from Poland, of which 2.2 million tons last year. The largest amount of wood is exported to Germany - 5.3 million tons, which is 37% of exports during this period. This is followed by "other countries" with 5.1 million tons (35%) and China with 4 million tons (28%).
In March of this year, the head of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, reported preparation of nine recommendations aimed at limiting the export of raw wood from Poland. One of them involves sending a larger volume of wood to regular customers of State Forests and entrepreneurs who will process it in Poland. The new rules for the sale of wood should support the domestic forestry industry and check the entrepreneurs who buy wood.
According to the State Forestry Service, the proposed solution will allow to more effectively check the declarations submitted by entrepreneurs, eliminate unscrupulous market participants and limit the export of roundwood. This will help support industries responsible for approximately 2.5% of GDP. The introduction of such changes will also increase the added value associated with the export of roundwood, which currently amounts to about 5 billion zlotys annually.
The foresters have also asked the finance minister to introduce an additional group of GTU, which will include raw wood .
