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Timber Guilds: "We Are Destined to Disappear Unless Urgent Measures Are Taken"

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● The Futuro Madera network categorically rejected the statements made by the Minister of Agriculture, who claimed that there is no actual "retreat" of the forestry industry.

The guilds grouped under the Futuro Madera network—comprising the Chilean Biomass Association (AChBIOM), the Association of Forestry Contractors (Acoforag), the Native Forest Owners Association (Aprobosque), the College of Forestry Engineers (Cifag), the Chilean Wood Corporation (Corma), and the Small and Medium-Sized Timber Industries (PymeMad)—joined the critical assessment voiced by various actors in the forestry sector in recent days. They emphasized that the outlook is highly negative for Chile's forestry sector, especially for small landowners, timber SMEs, and forestry contractors.

In addition to the devastating wildfires that occur every season—many of them intentional—the sector faces a complex economic scenario with high interest rates, collapsed demand, a slowdown in construction, and a consequent drop in material prices. This has led to the closure or bankruptcy of 200 small sawmills, three industrial plants, 20 contracting companies, and the loss of 35,000 hectares of forest plantations annually. According to Alejandro Casagrande, president of Corma Biobío and Ñuble, this has resulted in a 14% reduction in plantations and a 20% decline in the forestry GDP. He added, "The solution is for the country to start planting again."

Adding to this is the violence and attacks occurring in forestry operations. On this matter, Acoforag manager René Muñoz stated, "Violence against workers has become normalized, and no one—including authorities—seems alarmed that this happens regularly in the southern macrozone."

"This decline has turned into an economic, social, and environmental tragedy, as we in the College of Forestry Engineers have pointed out. Yet, the government shows little empathy and urgency in response," declared CIFAG Executive Secretary Julio Torres. He argued that the legislative agenda "does not seek to boost the sector but to change a model deemed unsustainable based on an ideological bias that dismisses the contribution of productive plantations."

An example is the current wildfire bill under discussion in Congress, which fails to address intentional wildfires or the recovery of affected areas managed by small and medium landowners.

Meanwhile, Pymemad National President Michel Esquerré stated that one of the most urgent needs is reforestation incentives: "No recovery or planting is happening, so neither the law creating a new forestry service nor the wildfire bill properly addresses the challenges faced by small and medium landowners or the need to decarbonize the national economy (...) SMEs will undoubtedly disappear," he stressed.

Rodrigo O’Ryan, president of AChBIOM, shares a similar diagnosis of the sector's crisis, stating, "We disagree with the optimistic view based on last year's export figures, as we believe the current crisis is structural, and its devastating effects will be felt intensely in the short term."

The Futuro Madera network urged authorities, particularly the Minister of Agriculture, to consider the work and proposals presented by the guilds in recent months—through meetings with officials and participation in formal forums like the Timber Roundtable and the Forest Policy Council. They called on the government not to shut the door on the timber industry, which supports thousands of families in central-southern Chile, and not to turn a deaf ear to a crisis that is evident and urgently needs addressing before it is too late.