Latvia’s sawmill industry in crisis: competitiveness undermined by high sawlog prices

Latvian manufacturers of softwood lumber encountered a significant drop in product demand and, consequently, in prices in the European and Asian markets, while the sawlogs needed for their production are forced to be purchased from the State Forest Manager of Latvia at high prices, as a result of which competitiveness has been lost and alarm bells are being rung, hoping for the involvement of ministers and the government to normalize the situation. The situation is made even more difficult by the fact that in other competitor countries of Latvian softwood lumber producers, the same raw material - softwood sawlogs - can ...