Latvia's timber industry is one of the strongest and fastest-growing sectors of our economy. It is very well developed, processes vast volumes of wood every year and creates high value-added products, from furniture and building materials to innovative composites. The sector provides tens of thousands of jobs in the regions, substantial tax revenue for the state budget and an internationally recognised brand for Latvia.

There is, however, another side to this. For lower-quality wood, such as pulpwood and industrial roundwood, there is currently almost no adequate processing capacity in Latvia. A large share of this resource is exported or left unused, which means lost value added and lost opportunities for our economy.

As Minister for Agriculture I am convinced, and we have a clear vision, of how to change this situation. The state must create the conditions for lower-quality wood to be processed in Latvia as well, creating new jobs, new technologies and new value added. This is not only an economic question. It is also an environmental and climate question. The more wood we process in Latvia, the fewer CO₂ emissions arise from resources left to rot in the forest, and the less dependent we are on foreign processing chains.

Unfortunately, the volume of lower-quality wood in Latvia could increase in the near future if the various ideas put forward by the Progressives party are supported in the Saeima and the Cabinet of Ministers. As a result, more trees will rot in the forest, generating additional emissions and increasing the share of poor-quality wood. Instead of the forest being a sustainable and economically valuable resource, it will become a source of emissions. We must not allow this to happen.

That is why I have already commissioned specific proposals for special state aid programmes to develop processing capacity. The aim of these programmes is to promote the creation of value added, to prevent the export of small-dimension wood and low-value timber, and to ensure that processing takes place in Latvia. The programmes will provide grants as well as loans and guarantees to companies ready to invest in new processing lines specifically in the lower-quality wood segment, from pellet production to innovative biocomposites and bioenergy solutions.

To make the programmes effective, we will actively involve ALTUM as the state development finance institution, as well as private banks. ALTUM's experience and instruments will make it possible to support both large and small processing projects in the regions quickly and in a targeted way. That will mean real support for foresters and processors, not empty declarations.

Of course, such support programmes require funding. For these purposes I propose using the funds of VAS “Latvijas valsts meži”, channelling them to ALTUM. It is logical and fair that money which comes from the forest should return to creating forest value in Latvia. This is not a budget deficit, but a smart investment in the future.

In contrast to certain political forces that have lately been busily looking for ideas on how to offer foresters subsidies “with the help of the Green Deal” and to become “little Latvijas Finieris”, in order to win themselves voters, our approach is different. We do not offer empty promises and we do not rely on hypothetical ministerial posts in the future. We have a concrete plan, a clear source of funding and a real team to carry it out. We want Latvia's forest and timber industry to remain strong, to process all wood in Latvia, to create value added, well-paid jobs and additional budget revenue that can be directed to pensions, education and healthcare.

Latvia's timber industry has every opportunity to become not merely a leader in the Baltics and a player at European level, but a global leader in sustainable, high value-added processing. All that is needed is a clear vision and the political will to implement it. As Minister for Agriculture I am ready to turn this vision into concrete action. I know that Latvia's foresters and its timber industry, where tens of thousands of our citizens work, will be able to achieve these goals!