The value of exports of the wood industry of BiH last year amounted to 1,592,465,387 BAM, which is 12.3 percent less than the previous year, while imports amounted to 522,761,631 BAM, which is 11 percent less than in 2022, so the coverage of imports by exports was 305 percent, said the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Furniture participated in the total export of the wood sector last year with 43 percent and amounted to 657,175,594 BAM, which is 3.9 percent less than in 2022, and the most exported were wooden and upholstered seats, furniture for living rooms and dining rooms, wooden bedroom furniture, and other wooden furniture.
There is an evident decline in exports of all product groups in 2023, with the exception of wooden prefabricated houses, the Chamber of Foreign Trade pointed out.
The Chamber stated that about 86 percent of the total export of the wood industry last year was realized in the top 15 export markets, among which Germany, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Austria, the Netherlands and France, as the most important export partners, and added that and to China, Turkey, Switzerland, and Great Britain.
When it comes to the import of the wood sector, all product groups experienced a decline, except for wooden furniture, and most were imported from Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The decision on the temporary ban on the export of certain forest wood assortments resulted in a decrease in exports, which led to a greater availability of wood assortments for the domestic economy and a significant drop in the import of forestry products, the Chamber emphasized.
Panels and veneer recorded a decrease in value, while the quantitatively realized imports in 2022 and 2023 are almost the same, parquet and construction carpentry recorded a slight decrease in imports in the last year compared to the previous one, while the import of wooden furniture is on a slight increase.
The Chamber of Foreign Trade stated that the timber sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina participates in exports with an average of 9.5 percent, and that it has a long-standing tradition in production and export.
“The wood industry of BiH has many years of experience in exporting products of higher stages of processing to EU countries and other markets. This is confirmed by past export results, international certificates held by companies, and prestigious awards for product design and quality at international fairs,” the Chamber reminded.
The wood industry, as emphasized, is already recognizable for the export of finished products, mainly massive furniture based on domestic beech, which makes it competitive and less dependent on imports.
The Chamber of Foreign Trade pointed out that in BiH in the past period, a significant number of manufacturers of final products have developed in the wood processing industry, who have enough capacity to fully utilize the existence of domestic raw materials.
From this chamber, they stated that in the previous period, the level of demand of end producers for raw materials was significantly higher than their current availability of raw materials on the domestic market.
“Taking into account not only the direct, but also the indirect effects of retaining the raw material for domestic wood processors, we believe that the introduction of banning measures for the export of the raw material /roundwood/ is justified, because the effects are multiple positive and significant for several reasons,” the Chamber said.
Some of the reasons are the retention of raw materials for wood processors, and in these challenging times to maintain a competitive position in the export of final wood products, primarily in the furniture export segment on the global stage.
“We believe that in the future the measure of banning the export of raw materials/roundwood/ has economic justification with the aim of providing conditions for a rounded production process in the wood processing industry and preserving the competitiveness of the wood industry in the segment of semi-final and final wood products,” the Foreign Trade Chamber pointed out.
The Chamber also stated that in the coming period, due to the significant increase in the prices of raw materials and raw materials, companies will have to adjust the sales prices of finished products, taking care to be competitive.
“Due to the disruption of the German market as the main export market for domestic companies and the ever-increasing decline in orders, we should think about conquering new markets, both in the EU and in other countries that are not EU members,” concluded the Chamber of Foreign Trade, Srna news agency reports.
