Rising raw material prices in the timber industry do not affect every wood product, said Kristaps Klauss, Executive Director of the Latvian Forest Industry Federation (LKF), in an interview.

"One thing must be understood: the major changes that have occurred and the rapid price rise that everyone is talking about do not encompass every wood product," said Mr Klauss, adding that the current price increase primarily affects softwood sawn timber and panels, such as OSB, chipboard, construction plywood and packaging.

He explained that the sharp rise in prices was caused by unexpectedly high private consumption combined with a rapid revival in construction. In many countries, including Latvia—though to a lesser extent than in, for example, the UK or the US—two things happened simultaneously last year: people were sent home, and unprecedented large-scale support measures were introduced to ensure people had an income. Consequently, during the downtime, people's incomes often did not decrease but actually increased due to both benefits and reduced spending.