High Wood resources in eSerbia (Sumadija)

Day 638, 23:01 • Published in Serbia Montenegro • by IM7 Armon


Текст је на енглеском језику, јер желим да и људи ван наших граница могу да прочитају овај чланак, који сам написао, рачунам са правом и по идеји коју води члан Крсто у еБиХ.

I'll point out some facts why reevaluation of wood resources in eSerbia and why upgrading Medium to High Wood region in eSerbian Capital Sumadija http://www.erepublik.com/en/region/Sumadija is credible.



Overview

Up to one-third of Serbia proper is in broad-leaved forest, mostly oak and beech. The wood and furniture industry has traditionally played an important role in the Economy of Serbia in real life. Since the end of the Second World War, Serbia, a country rich of abundant local raw materials, has always maintained a positive trade balance. The country is still rich in remarkable natural resources representing the main reason for its ongoing competitive wood/furniture industry. In fact the forest reserves of the country are estimated to be worth about 235 million cubic meters while woods and forests actually cover approximately 27% of the Serbian Territory which is equal to about two million hectares. The most important areas are the mountain regions in Central Serbia, Sumadija the area is heavily forested, hence the name (Suma = forest), whose climate conditions are respectively very favorable to the growth of poplar and the oak and to hardwood and beech. This region is deservedly called “the heart of Serbia”, the most obvious reason being due to its geographical position in the very center of the land far from all borders. Heading northwards is a mountain range Šumadija ridge that descends gently towards Belgrade. The peaks of these mountains are still covered with dense woods, the relic of once much greater forests that gave Šumadija its name (šuma = wood).

More than 47% of the Serbian forests are state owned and controlled by the two major state companies of “Srbijasume” and “Vojvodinasume” respectively managing 85% and 7.5% of the public forest reserves in the country. Private forests make up for the remaining 53% of the country’s forest area which is predominantly split into many small-size land lots (0.5 hectares in average). Large private forestry holdings are just a few but hold a considerable potential for further growth and development. These companies are well-known suppliers of high quality hard wood and a predominant solid wood used in the local furniture production. Activities carried in private forests are subject to the supervision of Srbijasume and Vojvodinasume.



Besides natural growth, Serbia pays great attention to reforestation. Plantations are spread throughout Serbia and are usually monospecific stands where species depend on the characteristics of landscape and eco–system. The plantations located in Central Serbia predominately grow coniferous species, especially pines (mainly Pinus nigra) and spruce (Picea abies) and cover two–thirds of all land dedicated for plantations. Other species grown are oak and other hardwood species.

Strengths

In Serbia the production of sawed unrefined timber (boarding) originating from hardwood appears to be prevalent in the Wood Industry. Beech wood accounts for the majority of sawed timber and covers 70% of the total production. 8.5% of the boarding and planking production is obtained out of oak while 11.5% is made out of poplar. At present, thanks to the significant price benefit, timber is also made of fruit trees such as walnuts and cherries. Serbia also produces sawed unrefined timber (boarding) out of softwood mainly obtained from common spruce, fir trees and pine trees available in the country only in limited quantity (9% of total country’s forests). The production of this type of boarding is mainly managed by state-owned companies and is hardly expandable to larger industrial scales due to insufficient financial means and the difficult procurement of raw materials. In Serbia great development is taking place in the field of veneered panels. Poplar is the main timber wood used for veneering products and covers nearly 85% of the total production. However, beech is also reaching significant volumes in veneering. Timber for plywood production is another important Serbian resource. The very large local reserves represent the only source of procurement. In 2006 the annual production of plywood lumber was at 190,000 cubic meters out of which 90% was poplar, 5.4% was beech and 3.1% was oak. The majority of plywood is exported to countries such as Italy, Macedonia and Germany.

In addition, Serbia is a producer of particle-board required by the furniture industry. In fact huge quantities of rejects suitable for particle board production are available in the country from the production of wood carvings and from the forests. Nevertheless Serbia with about 16 cubic meters of material per inhabitant is one of the last European countries in consumption of particle board. As for furniture industry, Serbia is a manufacturer of numerous types of different furniture from bedrooms to living rooms and from kitchens to office furniture. Bedroom furniture appears to be a remarkable product for the hotel sector where Serbian suppliers are well-known and appreciated both locally and abroad. This is especially true for the Russian Federation where the Serbian furniture dealers have created joint ventures with local distributors in order to refurbish hotel and schools, etc. Finally, Serbia has an outstanding tradition for producing wooden doors and windows. This sector counts 275 active companies partially exporting to Russia and Europe and partially selling to the domestic market. Oak is mainly used in this production of wooden doors though fir and common spruce are also used in a significant quantity. Wooden doors and windows production has further increased thanks to the consistent growth of construction business over the last few years.

Please sign this Open letter to eRepublik administrators:
http://www.erepublik.com/en/forum/topic/119689/high-wood-resources-in-eserbia-sumadija/1

Resources and credits:
http://www.siepa.sr.gov.yu/attach/Forest_Based_Industry_in_Serbia.pdf
http://www.srbijasume.rs/sumskifond_e.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/573100/Sumadija-Hills
http://forestportal.efi.int/view.php?id=345&c=RS
http://www.fao.org/forestry/country/en/srb/