Forest owners, foresters stage protest rally in Piata Victoriei

Thousands of forest workers from Suceava County and from other counties, along with forest owners and furniture producers are staging a protest rally downtown Bucharest, in Piata Victoriei, in front of the Government. They are dissatisfied with the new prices of wood, with the recovery mode, but also with the procedure of auction by envelope, digi24.ro informs.
Although the protest was scheduled for 11.00h, by 10.00h, in Piata Victoriei over 1,000 protesters were already present. Organizers say more than 5,000 protesters are expected to the rally, including forest owners, foresters and representatives of the industry, from no less than 18 counties.
Main dissatisfactions are related to the state company Romsilva, which they claim it has blocked the entire industry due to its excessive prices. The ones in need for wood now prefer to buy from the black market, rather than from Romsilva, leading thus to the tripling of wood prices, while more forest owners prefer to illegally cut the forests.
“We demand the return to normality in the prices of wood, at the prices before 2016 and contracts of sale that represent a partnership, not to contain unfair terms and obligations for wood purchasers,” said Ciprian Musca, leader of the Suceava Foresters Association.
The protesters will submit a list including ten demands, most of them related to Romsilva, but also related to the need for a much tougher law aimed to halt the illegal logging.
Traffic is affected by the protest rally in the area of Piata Victoriei. It is estimated the rally will continue until 18.00h.