Poland’s wood and furniture industry is one of the pillars of the national economy. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, generates billions of zlotys in exports and drives innovation across all regions of the country. Today, however, this pillar is weakening and faces a serious threat.
Wood and Furniture Industry Council: urgent tasks for the state
On 6 May, the second meeting of the Council for the Wood and Furniture Industry, operating under the Prime Minister of Poland, was held. The meeting was chaired by Michał Jaros, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development and Technology. It was attended by the Coalition for Polish Wood and associations representing all branches of the wood industry.
During the meeting, sector representatives stressed that the current situation requires immediate action.
The key conclusions of the meeting included:
- preparation by the State Forests, by mid-July, of a 10-year forecast for timber harvesting, broken down by species and assortments;
- development of assumptions for a law treating wood as a strategic raw material;
- the need for a long-term strategy based on market predictability, raw material security and partnership-based dialogue between public administration and businesses.
Piotr Wójcik, Vice-President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce of Furniture Manufacturers, emphasised that the furniture industry has for years contributed to Poland’s positive trade balance, created tens of thousands of jobs and ranked among the world’s largest furniture exporters.
Without stable access to raw material and predictable operating conditions, companies are limiting production, laying off workers and closing plants. If the state does not intervene, Poland will lose not only jobs, but also one of the key pillars of its economy and export capacity.
Reduced timber supply hits the Polish economy
The most serious threat to the stability of Poland’s wood industry is currently the restriction of timber availability. High prices and shortages of raw material are not accidental, according to the sector. They are the consequence of decisions taken by the management of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, which have reduced timber supply.
The most important measures include the introduction of logging moratoria without sufficient legal grounds, the designation of so-called “old-growth forests”, “social forests” and reserves, as well as modifications to forest management methods.
According to the industry, these actions have been taken without reliable analyses and consultations, leading to a sharp decline in supply. Between 2017 and 2024, the State Forests supplied around 41 million cubic metres of timber annually. Following the decisions of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, planned sales for 2025 amount to around 38 million cubic metres, and for 2026 only 36 million cubic metres.
This represents a supply reduction of more than 12%, which directly translates into higher prices and the erosion of the competitiveness of Polish companies.
The crisis is deepening
According to the latest industry analyses, Poland’s furniture and wood sector is facing its most serious crisis in years. The condition of the industry is affected by geopolitical factors, including the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East, as well as falling demand and growing economic uncertainty.
At the same time, business costs are rising rapidly. This applies to energy, wages, fuels, materials and wood raw material. The price of pulpwood in some Regional Directorates of State Forests has already exceeded PLN 540 per cubic metre, while growing imports of furniture from China account for almost 40% of total furniture imports.
The value of sold furniture production, calculated using the entity-based method as the sum of revenues across the entire sector, is also falling sharply. It declined from PLN 69.0 billion in 2022 to PLN 62.1 billion in 2024, with forecasts pointing to a further decrease.
The industry’s profitability is only around 4.4% and continues to shrink. In the first half of 2025, it fell to 3.8%, while almost 36% of companies were unprofitable. Orders from the German market have fallen by 50–70% in many companies.
With orders declining, businesses are being forced to make difficult decisions. Over the past four years, the furniture industry has reduced employment by around 27,000 jobs. This means a decline of more than 16%, from an average of 165,000 workers in 2022 to around 138,000 in March 2026.
The list of plants being closed or scaling down production continues to grow — from small family-owned businesses to large, well-known brands.
Key questions for the government
The industry expects concrete action from the state and is asking several urgent questions:
When will a comprehensive raw material strategy be presented to guarantee stable access to timber, enabling companies to maintain production and plan investments?
When will Poland’s wood and furniture industry be provided with predictable, market-based prices for wood raw material, which are one of the basic conditions for maintaining the sector’s competitiveness?
What tools will be introduced to reduce rising energy and labour costs? Maintaining competitiveness requires lowering the cost of doing business.
How does the government intend to protect the market against unfair import practices and excessive pressure from producers and suppliers outside the European Union?
Is systemic financial support planned for companies to help them maintain employment and liquidity, in order to avoid a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs?
What measures will be taken to protect jobs and local communities from the consequences of further plant closures?
The sector calls for urgent decisions
The wood and furniture sector has no time for further months of losses and inaction. This is about the real lives of thousands of Polish women and men for whom work in this industry is the foundation of their livelihoods.
Falling production, rising costs and job cuts can no longer wait for a response. If the state does not act immediately, jobs and budget revenues will disappear, and Poland will lose its export advantage.
Polish industry needs action here and now. Further delay is not an option. Each additional month of inaction means further employment cuts, loss of market share and strengthening of foreign competitors.
The Coalition for Polish Wood, together with the wider industry community, is appealing to state authorities for urgent and systemic action: the creation of a stable, long-term raw material strategy, rapid financial and regulatory support, and protection of jobs and local communities.
Poland and Polish society cannot afford passivity. Now is the time for decisions, responsibility and commitment from state institutions.
The wood and furniture industry is ready to cooperate, share knowledge and experience, but it expects concrete steps, not declarations. Only in this way can one of the most important pillars of the Polish economy be saved, ensuring a secure future for employees and their families.
The next meeting of the Council is scheduled for mid-July. It will be an opportunity for state representatives to present concrete proposals for action.
