The Vitebsk region leadership expects "aggressive marketing" from woodworking enterprises

At a regular operational meeting chaired by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the situation in the forestry and woodworking industry of the region was discussed.

This sector is under special control of the head of state, emphasized Nikolai Sherstnev. The strategy for its development has been discussed at the highest level more than once. The state has invested huge funds in the recovery of the industry, but woodworking has not yet yielded the expected results.

Meanwhile, forests are one of the few renewable raw materials that Vitebsk region possesses in sufficient quantities. Here, we are not dependent on imports; on the contrary, we act as exporters. This is real money that must be managed wisely, believes the head of the region.

Today, the task is to ensure the effective functioning of the entire forest complex of the Pridvinye region, and primarily the processing of timber, to obtain products with high added value and sell them on the foreign market with maximum benefit.

The head of the Vitebsk State Production Forestry Association, Sergei Danilovich, and the General Director of OJSC "Vitebskdrev", Anatoly Yukhnovets, reported on the situation of Vitebsk woodworkers.

As it turned out, there are plenty of problems. The forests are full of deadwood, but the forestry enterprises do not deal with it and do not remove it, and the timber rots on the stump. At one time, as part of an ill-conceived republican campaign, 7 out of 19 forestry enterprises in the region abandoned their woodworking shops, and the remaining 12 require modernization and operate with extremely low capacity utilization. For example, Bogushevskoye forestry enterprise, with the efforts of 23 people employed at the sawmill, produced only 8 thousand cubic meters of lumber last year, while Rossony forestry enterprise, with 30 employees, produced 15 thousand cubic meters. This is an extremely low output.

Primarily unprocessed timber (round logs) with low value is exported, while lumber, which could bring good profits, accounts for only 23% of the supply volume. The question arises, whom are we feeding outside of Belarus to our own detriment?

At Vitebskdrev OJSC, the situation regarding a lack of initiative and inability to work is similar. Production capacities are underutilized, production volumes are declining, and product profitability is negative.

The same can be said for the Orsha Construction Materials Plant. Here is one eloquent fact characterizing its performance: the utilization of production capacities for round timber sawing in 2015 was a mere... 13%!

The heads of the region's forestry and woodworking industry are criminally wasting time when they could be earning money, believes Nikolai Sherstnev. Timber processing is our economic reserve, and it needs to be taken seriously.

The Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Vladimir Belous, and the Head of the Main Department of Departmental Control of the Regional Executive Committee, Viktor Sharkovich, have been instructed to thoroughly inspect the activities of the Orsha Construction Materials Plant, hold negligent managers accountable, and take the necessary measures to rectify the situation.

The Chairman of the Economics Committee of the Regional Executive Committee, Svyatoslav Zarovsky, has been instructed to provide forestry enterprises with specific targets for increasing lumber volumes and export supplies within two weeks, as well as to present a development project for the woodworking industry by district.

The General Director of Vitebskdrev OJSC, Anatoly Yukhnovets, has been tasked with restoring production volumes to the 2014 level and developing a program for their further increase.

The Assistant to the President of the Republic of Belarus – Chief Inspector for the Vitebsk Region, Alexander Poznyak, supported the head of the region in demanding "aggressive marketing" from woodworking enterprises, emphasizing that it includes the need to promote products in domestic and foreign markets, improve quality, and increase the output of innovative products.

Lyudmila Myshlyonok, Chief Specialist of the Main Department of Ideological Work, Culture, and Youth Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee.