Lumber mill owners threaten to close their businesses

The owners of about 35 lumber mills recently indicated that they would close their businesses en masse. There is a growing demand for Surinamese lumber on the international market but exporters are reluctant to pay the lumber mills the same figures as the lumber markets. The owners of the lumber mills pointed out that they are currently facing huge problems. Only a handful of lumber mill owners can stay afloat but that is because they have their own lumber concession. The handful of lumber mill owners manage to provide lumber to the local market but the drop in supply is creating pushing the price of affordable lumber up on the local market. Some concession holders explained that the only option would be for the lumber mill owners to pay the same price as the exporters or more but this would eventually make lumber too expensive for local consumers. “Lumber mills and furniture makers can’t obtain round timber,” said Andre Soeltaansingh, chairman of the Lumber Union. “People are about to close their business because it is no longer profitable. But closure would be a waste of the investments that were made.” The government reportedly plans on putting restriction on the export of round timber but the lumber mills made it clear that the government is taking too long with the execution of its plans. “Before 1990 all of the lumber mills had a concession but concessions have always been a political instrument and people took advantage of that,” said Soeltaansingh.