It was last summer when the president of FederlegnoArredo, Claudio Feltrin, wrote to the European Commission asking to stop the export of timber produced in Europe and use it for internal use. The problem of expensive raw materials, including timber, had been present for months now and Russia had just announced that from 1 January this year it would block the export of this material outside its borders. Now, the war in Ukraine exacerbates the problem, making that request more relevant than ever. “Last week we had meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Economic Development and we asked to support our request in Brussels,” explains Feltrin.
Prices more than doubled in one year
“For over a year we have witnessed an unprecedented imbalance in supply and demand, which affects all tree species and all international markets, in particular conifers and broad-leaved trees, the most used by our industry”, explains Michele Calcaterra, president of Fedecomlegno, the association of wood importers and distributors. Since autumn 2020 the price of raw materials has increased rapidly until reaching increases of between 130% and 280% between June and August, and then begins a slow decline. “But prices have never returned to pre-Covid levels – specifies Calcaterra -: we are still talking about prices doubled compared to normal values”.
About 5.3% of the wood that Italy imports comes from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus (9 million cubic meters in total between January and November 2021, for a total value of 4.9 billion euros, up 32 , 7% compared to the first 11 months of 2020), says Claudio Feltrin. Not a huge share, therefore, given that our country’s main supplier is Austria, with 1.2 billion euros of imports, followed by Germany (445.4 million), China (338.6 million), Poland ( 306.4 million) and France (263 million). Russia appears in tenth place, Ukraine in 15th. But the ban on exports by Moscow and the conflict following the invasion of Ukraine are creating further imbalances on the market.
Alarm on birch wood
«We will have serious problems especially in the supply of birch logs, of which Russia is the main world producer, with 80% of the market – explains Feltrin -. The companies still have stocks for a couple of months, but then there is a risk of the production being blocked for many companies ». Not only of wood and furniture (a supply chain that counts over 71 thousand companies and generates 49 billion in production turnover), but also of other industrial sectors, from automotive to construction, to logistics, given that birch, as well as solid wood from Ukraine is used for industrial packaging, trucking floors, floors and structural beams. And it’s not easy to replace, especially quickly.
“It is necessary and urgent to find alternative sources of supply, such as poplar or beech, possibly of national origin, accelerating the objectives and actions envisaged by the National Forest Strategy”, says Claudio Feltrin. For years, the furniture wood industry has been pushing for a forest policy capable of enhancing the national forest heritage and local supply chains, at least partially freeing the country from dependence on foreign countries and creating job opportunities by relaunching a forest economy that Italy has been losing for decades.