The prices for wood are currently quite high, but that does not mean that there is also a shortage of the resource.
There are other reasons to blame.
District -
There is no shortage of wood.
Michael Lechner, chairman of the forest owners' association (WBV) Holzkirchen, and forestry director Christian Webert from the Holzkirchen Agricultural Office emphasize this in unison.
The high cost of the raw material, which is currently making the headlines (we reported), is rather an expression of the pricing policy of recent years.
"If there is no objective basis, there is currently damage to the company's image," says Lechner.
WBV Holzkirchen marketed almost 70,000 cubic meters of wood last year.
A low value compared to previous years.
In 2019 it was 90,000, before that it was over 100,000 cubic meters.
The decline has nothing to do with the shortage of wood, but with the unsatisfactory price structure for local forest owners.
"We have had extremely modest log prices for over five years," reports Lechner.
“At the same time, the wood industry is generating substantial revenues.
Only a modest share goes to the producers. "
Miesbach: Wood stocks bigger than ever
The reasons for the forest farmer's crisis, which began in 2015, are several violent storms and bark beetle infestations. Suddenly the forest owners had to process wood in large quantities. Because of the oversupply, prices plummeted - and have only recovered slowly since then. "We are now catching up to some extent, but we have not yet reached the pre-crisis level," reports Lechner.
For many forest owners, wood processing has therefore become an unattractive business.
“Some say I don't even start my chainsaw for the money,” says Lechner.
This results in problems with forest conversion.
“You can't sit back and relax,” says forestry manager Webert, who, with his department at the agricultural office, is responsible for advising forest owners, among other things.
“In order for us to have a stable mixed forest for the future, it has to be maintained and thinned.” Many forest owners, however, preferred to leave the trees standing in view of the low prices.
That let the forest conversion stall.
"The wood stocks are currently higher than ever before," knows Webert.
"We have more growth than was taken."
Miesbach: Wood prices in the cellar - "That's why I don't even start the saw"
Lechner and Webert therefore see their task in convincing forest owners to take care of the forest - and to support them. On the one hand, this is achieved through information. Last year, for example, the Department of Agriculture started a series of lectures, especially for new forest owners. On the other hand, the WBV offers forest maintenance contracts. Professional companies then take care of the felling and maintenance, the WBV takes over the marketing. "We have now signed forest maintenance contracts with our members for around 1500 hectares," reports Lechner. "This means that the felling is organized for around 60 percent of our total sales volume." The wood from WBV preferably goes to local sawmills.
The forest experts expect that the wood market will recover for the producers - and not only the industry will earn from it.
The favorable weather conditions are also a bright spot at the moment.
The wet and cool April keeps the bark beetle small, which ensures a little relaxation and recreation in the forests.
The situation could of course turn around quickly.
“The general mood among the forest owners is positive,” says Lechner.
After all, they had a material of the future that is in enormous demand.
"If something grows back permanently," adds Webert, "then it's wood."
by Stephen Hank
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