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Forestry Contractors Detail Threats Affecting the Sector: "The Outlook Is Not Encouraging"

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• The lack of legal certainty for investors is driving away projects that generate jobs and development for the southern regions, warned the leader of Acoforag.

The manager of the Association of Forestry Contractors (Acoforag), René Muñoz, stated that the sector is "in crisis" and detailed the factors that, in his opinion, explain the situation: insecurity, wildfires, and the lack of public policies to incentivize plantations.

The representative explained, "We have been experiencing the forestry sector crisis firsthand for a while now. The market downturn, the emergence of subsidized companies engaging in unfair competition, the appearance of toll payments to work, the 'voluntary' reduction of fees, and the countless additional costs we must bear to operate."

He specifically addressed insecurity, noting that "the reasons for our fragile situation stem from threats. The first is timber theft. Despite the law enacted in 2022, this crime continues to occur."

On the same note, the Acoforag spokesperson also accused, "We have no insurance for our work equipment, mobile units, or forestry trucks. The current insurance from the State Bank only covers owned equipment (excluding leasing) for political damage and total loss when the insured equipment suffers over 75% damage."

He detailed, "It has become the norm to work and pay for every cubic meter produced in the Southern Macrozone. This perverse incentive, aimed at buying temporary peace and security, sets a significant precedent that will be hard to eradicate from the areas where it is currently applied."

On the other hand, he referred to the effects of the major wildfires in 2017 and 2023, which, in his view, "are having a dual effect: a reduction in the supply of planted forests and an increase in the concentration of those who can reforest and recover their assets. During this period, at least 30 forestry contractors have left due to lack of work."

LACK OF INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
Muñoz also criticized the absence of a forestry institutional framework, claiming, "The State has been unable to resolve this long-awaited issue for the forestry sector. The importance of the forestry sector demands a sub-secretariat to organize the industry and facilitate better dialogue with the State."

The Acoforag manager called for the new framework to "generate long-term public policies that outlast governments."

Similarly, he highlighted the absence of a "forestry promotion law to recover burned forests (350,000 hectares) and the 2,000,000 hectares of eroded land in the country."

René Muñoz pointed out that currently, there is a "lack of legal certainty. There is no certainty for investors in the sector, and as a result, forestry projects that generate jobs and development for the southern regions of the country are being driven away. The outlook is not encouraging. Different perspectives must converge toward a common goal."

"It is essential that all stakeholders are willing to move forward," stated René Muñoz, assuring that the forestry contractors' guild "will always be ready to support the growth of the country's forestry sector."

Source:latribuna.cl