Entity governments of BiH agreed to request a ban on the export of forest wood assortments from the Council of Ministers, which should come into force soon. The introduction of this measure will contribute to wood contractors in BiH as well as domestic consumers who have been dealing with the lack of wood products in the past couple of years.
The first measure is the ban on the export of forest wood assortments on a period of two years. The second measure is the introduction of taxes on exports of sawnwood from beech and oak. Entity governments will also request a protection of domestic consumers who use wood as a heating material with the introduction of taxes on the export of firewood for a period of two years.
Money collected from taxes will be directed to a special account and it will be used for the protection of forests and improvement of forest management. These measures will be found at the session of the Government of the FBiH on June 14, and it should be officially adopted soon.
Secretary of the Association of Forestry and Processing of Wood at the Chamber of Commerce of the RS, Lazo Sinik, stated that these measures are not the ultimate solution for the protection of the domestic wood industry, but they will certainly contribute to the improvement of the supply of the domestic market with wood assortments.
From the Association of Wood Industry and Forestry at the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH noted that the export of raw materials was increased in the recent period and that the ban on the export is the only measure that can bring positive results for BH wood industry.
Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of FBiH, Semsudin Dedic, earlier stated that the ban on the export of wood raw materials in one entity would not be effective enough and that both entities need to cooperate. According to him, the long-term solution to the problem of the lack of raw materials in BiH is the adoption of the Law on Forests that brings the Decree on the allocation of raw materials that will favour companies with the highest level of product finalization.
(Source: Dz. L./Klix.ba)
