Restriction to actually buy a forest: in half a year only 3 transactions of almost 3 thousand.

For comparison, during the same period, NJT territorial divisions issued 2986 consents.

Algis Gaižutis, president of the Lithuanian Forest and Land Owners Association, said the new restriction contains more politics than wisdom.

“Several buyers (funds, companies, individuals) continue to buy forests. Especially those with greater financial opportunities,” he told Delfi.

Rejected 0.1 percent.

Restriction on the acquisition of more than 1.5 thousand. hectares of forest in Lithuania took effect on January 1, 2020.

According to Audrius Gelžinis, Advisor to the NJT Public Relations Department, almost a third (950) of the 2,970 consents to buy forest land were issued during the quarantine, i. and. from March 16 to June 1. At that time, NJT specialists worked remotely.

“In 16 more cases this year, in 6 months, consents were issued to acquire the right to manage a legal entity or part of it, which owns more than 400 hectares of forest land,” he said.

A. Gelžinis also noted that in three cases the issuance of consents for the acquisition of forest land and consent to acquire the right to manage a legal entity or its part, which owns more than 400 ha of forest land, was rejected.

The three cases mentioned represent 0.1%. of all forest acquisition applications reviewed by the NJT.

“Most of the consents for the acquisition of forest land were issued by the NAF divisions of Varėna (271), Šalčininkai (126) and Švenčionys (116),” said a service representative.

A. Gelžinis added that consents or refusals to issue consents for the acquisition of forest land are presented within 15 days.

Reckless insurance

At that time, Marius Valukynas, the head of one of the largest forest owners, the Median Dzūkijos company, said that it takes about 2 months to get the NJT’s consent. According to him, this has contributed greatly to the contraction of the market.

“I think forest sales have been cut in half,” Valukynas said of the impact of the new restriction.

The interlocutor said that the restriction has reduced the number of people who can buy forests, but the transactions are ongoing.

“A forest is an object that needs to be cultivated. The Ministry of the Environment, in reorganizing the SFEs, based them on the fact that 25 thousand hectares that manage the SFE are neither profitable nor profitable. They joined, they increased. It is like a profitable agriculture with losses of 1.5 thousand, ha? he thought.

According to M. Valukynas, 1.5 thousand. the limit of ha is not wise.

“In general, this restriction is unwise due to the fact that the average logging in Lithuania is 2.5 ha. To consolidate holdings, a priority right to acquire neighbors was introduced, but with 1.5 thousand. ha, this right has disappeared ”, he recalled.

Called politicking

A. Gaižutis, the president of the Lithuanian Association of Forest and Land Owners, sees more politics than the restriction of wisdom.

“This restriction on owning no more than 1.5 thousand hectares of forest brought more confusion and additional bureaucracy, because that regulation is easily circumvented for those with greater resources (legal, administrative, monetary),” he said.

A. Gaižutis noted that only one larger player withdrew from the Lithuanian market: IRI Investments, which is managed by the Ikea Group.

“There is a lot of confusion with the people involved and with the accounting of the forest areas they have.” Instead of the authorities themselves taking the available data on the areas they own from existing records, they are involved in completing complicated forms, and even the owner himself cannot obtain the necessary certificate from the Records Center, “he said.

The interlocutor said that the transactions are going as they are.

“In addition to the increased bureaucracy and the time of notaries who have not worked due to quarantine for some time, it is still limited by last year, when wood prices were very high, vendor expectations and opportunities existing ones have been formed, “said A. Gaižutis.

The head of the association considered that the locals, who live in forestry daily and live from it, do not have much to invest in the acquisition of forests that cannot be used in the near future.

“And investors (generally not local capital or mutual funds) have other objectives, so that available capital is not ‘burned’, so they have other options,” he said.

A. Gaižutis negatively evaluated the fact that the restriction establishes 1 million. a monopoly of the State Forest Company that manages the forests.

“The restrictions affected market prices to some extent (because a large buyer pulled out), and other buyers, of course, took advantage of that leitmotiv. But the biggest impact on prices is due to the drastic decrease in wood prices. on roll compared to last year, even down to -40 percent and more for individual assortments, ”he told Delfi.

According to data from the Delfi survey “Largest forest owners”, in 2019, 58 individuals and legal entities managed forest plots of more than 500 ha.

Ikea owned 27,000. ha, Dasos Capital – 14.6 thousand. ha, for “Dzūkija forest” – 10 thousand. ha, for Gintautas Zinkevičius – 7.5 thousand. ha, for Dzūkija wood – 7 thousand. say ah.