How can hardwoods produced in Wallonia be used locally?
Description
Wednesday 3 August from 14:00 to 15:00
How can hardwoods produced in Wallonia be used locally?
Welcome : Pascal BALLEUX, President of the Cercle Forêt Bois
Moderator: Emmanuel DEFAYS, Director of the Walloon Wood Economic Office
Introduction : Pierre PIRARD, Deputy Head of Cabinet, representing Willy BORSUS, Vice-President and Minister for the Economy, Foreign Trade, Research and Innovation, Digital, Spatial Planning, Agriculture, IFAPME and Competence Centres
François DENEUFBOURG, Head of Development, Walloon Wood Economic Office, Marche-en-Famenne (B)
Development of the valorisation of local hardwoods: some Walloon initiatives.
– Direct sales for hardwood sawmills
Our Walloon hardwood sawmills are short of wood and can no longer compete with export prices.
Faced with this situation and motivated by the desire to support a sector in serious difficulty, the Walloon Government adopted a decree in May 2014 raising the ceiling for private sales of hardwood in public forests from €2,500 to €35,000, while encouraging the local use of wood.
What are the results and prospects of this measure?
– The “Local wood – Our know-how” brand
The “Local Wood” brand is an initiative of the Walloon wood sector aimed at highlighting its resources and know-how. The approach also aims to meet the increasingly frequent demands of consumers who, attracted by local and responsible consumption, wish to be better informed about the products they buy. Each member displays the brand on its products, packaging and advertising materials. Consumers can easily identify each producer thanks to their unique membership number.
What are the trends and developments of this initiative of the Walloon wood sector?
– The call for projects ” Valorisation bois feuillus wallons ” : R&D, experimental development, investment
The Walloon Recovery Plan is underway (2022-2024). Through the PWR and the PNRR, the Walloon Government is taking a large series of measures to revive the Walloon economy. The valorisation of hardwoods is one of them. It thus completes the measure for the resilient forest and wishes to open perspectives for the transformation of tomorrow’s forest products where hardwoods will undoubtedly occupy a more important place.
What value can be added to our hardwoods?
o Witness 1: Maxime LEONET, Mayor of the Commune of Daverdisse and OEWB Director
Maxime LEONET, Mayor of Daverdisse, regularly uses private treaty sales to hardwood sawyers for the sale of wood in his municipality. Convinced of the virtues of this approach, he acts in good agreement with the TDR management support. He will present his vision, his objectives and his experience in this area.
o Witness 2: Martial CAMPS, Director MDN Industries VICABOIS
The MDN Industries sawmill in Morville is an oak sawmill. It is one of the regular buyers at private sales. Martial CAMPS, will present his vision of a market increasingly pressurised by the massive export of raw timber to foreign countries. MDN is also a member of the “Local wood, our know-how” brand; he will explain consumers’ sensitivity to short circuits and the reasons for joining the collective brand.
Target audience: public and private owners and managers, municipal officials, experts, technicians, wood merchants, operators and sawyers, teachers and students,
