The German forestry and timber industry was already in a state of emergency before the coronavirus pandemic: storms, drought and bark beetles have been threatening the industry for over two years.
The German companies had already reached their limits in order to cope with the amount of damaged wood and now need support, while the current coronavirus crisis is exacerbating the situation. According to a German Sawing and Timber Industry Federation (DeSH) survey, 70% of the German sawmill companies are already negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Between 2018 and 2020, storms, droughts, fires and bark beetle infestations in Germany caused around 160 million cubic meters of damaged wood on an area of 245,000 ha, according to the latest figures from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The forecasts for 2020 show hardly any relaxation. On the contrary: due to the mild winter and the pre-damage, experts assume that the beetle situation will worsen in spring.
In view of the parallel burden of the pandemic and the progressive damage to the forest, the DeSH is calling on politicians to take steps to deal with the short-term as well as a long-term economic recovery.
The DeSH’s internal survey clearly shows that numerous companies plan to go short-time during the coronavirus crisis. In order to enable wood to be used over a longer period of time in view of this limitation in processing capacities, the expansion of storage options is essential.
DeSH believes that long-term political measures must ensure that wood makes an outstanding contribution to the sustainable development of society. This includes the promotion of the building material in public tenders, the acceleration of planning and approval procedures for timber construction projects, connection regulations for wood-fired power plants in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), the expansion of the reduced VAT rate to all timber products.