czech republic

Lesy CR fears a harvest of 15 million m³ this year

Article by Gerd Ebner (adapted for holzkurier.com; translated by Eva Guzely) | 26.05.2020 - 09:18

Thanks to the slightly cooler weather in Spring, Vojáček expects only two bark beetle generations this year. In the catastrophic year 2018, there were three generations nationwide, partly even four.

Lesy CR has a normal logging volume of 8 million m³. In the Czech Republic, a total of 17 to 18 million m³ are harvested each year. In 2018, Lesy CR recorded a harvest of 11 million m³ of damaged wood alone. Last year, the volume reached already 14 million m³. This year, normal logging is to nearly double to 15 million m³ at Lesy CR (as mentioned above).

According to Vojáček, the timber price is 30% of what was earned in 2015, among other things because processing capacities of domestic and foreign sawmills cannot keep up with the accumulation of damaged wood. Labe Wood in Steti, which was started up in March, is the only new sawmill in the Czech Republic.

In the interview with Lidové noviny, Vojáček puts the cutting capacity of Czech sawmills at 11 million m³ a year. Thus, if 30 million m³ are again harvested this year in the Czech Republic, 19 million m³ would have to be exported. Part of this quantity is shipped to China. According to the head of Lesy CR, 1.5 million m³ were exported to the country in 2019.

The decline in spruce stocks in Lesy CR in relation to the most recent national forest inventory is put at 16% by Vojáček. He expects a similar percentage nationwide. Hardwood stocks, however, saw a slight increase.

The original article: https://www.lidovky.cz/domov/kurovce-je-treba-zpomalit-jako-vir-rika-sef-podniku-lesy-cr-josef-vojacek-v-krizi-vidi-i-prilezitost.A200523_035759_ln_domov_tmr