Business news
Lukashenko comments on financial performance of Belarus’ woodworking industry
ORSHA DISTRICT, 21 April (BelTA) - The financial indicators of the country’s woodworking industry show where our money and our perspective are, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his visit to woodworking site No.2 of the Orsha Forestry in the agro-town of Kopys on 21 April, BelTA has learned.
Belarusian Forestry Minister Aleksandr Kulik reported to the president on the provision of forestries with modern logging equipment and also the woodworking industry with wood raw materials. Speaking about exports, Aleksandr Kulik noted that the products are exported to the markets of 16 countries. The financial performance in the woodworking industry have improved, the minister added.
“These results are showing where our money and our perspective is. It is not even in oil refining. We have our own raw materials. We should develop this area, and everything which is related to this raw material,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
Last year the organizations affiliated with the Forestry Ministry supplied 10 million cubic meters of wood to state and private wood processing enterprises of the country. Head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate Yuri Nazarov said that the enterprises that process wood in large volumes need to see the perspective.
“It is necessary either to solve everyone's issues with the concern, or to hold annual bidding on the exchange, as it was done before,” the head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate said. “They need to understand the diameters, the annual volume of roundwood they will be offered.”
“What is the problem then? If we have underprocessed raw materials, and someone needs them and wants to see the perspective, then what is the problem?” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “The main question has always been about prices: be it the commodity exchange or something else. Today we can decide on the prices keeping in mind the current situation. And sell them the product at this price.” The head of state instructed to solve the matter this year so that by 1 January such processors could see the perspective.
The provision of machinery and tractor fleet for the wood processing industry was one of the issues discussed during the president’s working trip. “Today we have forwarders, harvesters, basic machines and mechanisms,” Aleksandr Kulik said.
Aleksandr Kulik informed that machinery harvested about 65% of the total timber volumes. The minister added that he expects that manual harvesting will be maintained at about 30%. In this regard, the president agreed that it is not always possible to reach all areas with the help of machinery and manual felling is still needed in this work.
print version
make home page
add to bookmarks
