Cei-Bois, the federation representing the European woodworking industries, has announced the addition of a new member, the Lithuanian Wood Processors Association, bringing the number of members of the federation to 16, which now represents all Baltic nations.
“I am confident that our new Lithuanian colleagues will bring an additional and welcome perspective to our collective work, including an understanding of the wood industry within their country and the Baltic countries more generally, as well as their unique European perspective“, commented Cei-Bois President Sampsa Auvinen.
“One of the main reasons why we wanted to join Cei-Bois – added Raimondas Imbrasas, director of the Lithuanian Association – is that we want to be informed about the upcoming decisions of the European Parliament. Politicians in Brussels and decision-makers in the Commission and the Council need to listen more to business and society when making changes to legislation. Furthermore, we believe that Cei-Bois is aware of many practices of the timber industry in Europe that they could share with us. We would also like them to visit us in Lithuania to meet with institutions and companies“.
NUMBERS
The Baltic States are vital for the European woodworking industry and Lithuania punches above its weight in the wood industry. According to Eurostat, as of 2020, about 20,000 people were employed in Lithuania in the woodworking and sawmill industry. This equates to approximately 9 percent of the workforce employed in the Lithuanian manufacturing sector (the overall share in the EU is about 3 percent). In 2020 there were about 3,000 companies active in the woodworking and sawmill industry in Lithuania which equals about 14.5 percent of companies in the Lithuanian manufacturing sector (the overall share in the EU is about 7.5 percent).
