UK woodshavings contractors say their businesses are being threatened by Dutch and German companies dumping surplus stocks in the UK.
Contractors, who spelled out their concerns at a meeting of the National Association of Woodshavings Merchants and Contractors (NAWSMAC), said the dumping was an organised effort designed to stabilise continental prices by exhausting surpluses to the UK.
They also fear European operators are trying to establish a bigger long-term sales base, mainly in the south of England.
NAWSMAC said outbreaks of bird flu in Holland, Germany and Belgium have collapsed the demand for European shavings, with stocks estimated to be between 275,000-375,000 tonnes and rising rapidly.
It says UK stocks are already “exceptionally high” and warns that a massive market oversupply is looming. The association is calling on all contractors and sawmills to adopt a responsible and long term approach to pricing of sawmill residues.
A spokesperson for NAWSMAC said: “Many contractors have scant reserves and at times of heavy market pressures, such as those faced at the moment, they are presented with no alternative but to seek assistance in the form of lower prices from their sawmill suppliers.”
