Thirty-six companies submitted bids for the CZK 5 billion tender of the state-owned Lesy České republiky (LČR) for forestry work, logging, and wood sale the years 2021 to 2025. Last year, 32 companies applied for the 2020+ tenders. In tender 2021+, the estimated value of forestry work is CZK 4.5 billion, and the volume of wood to be harvested is six million cubic meters. The forests of the Czech Republic own almost half of the forests, and their current main task is to manage the bark beetle calamity.
The deadline for electronic submission of bids was this morning, after which the company began evaluating them. The winning companies should start working for Lesy ČR from the beginning of January next year.
The tender is divided into 29 orders. The companies submitted a total of 190 offers. This means that an average of 6.6 offers per unit of Forests of the Czech Republic came. It follows that companies’ interest in working for Lesy ČR is thus higher than in previous years. In last year’s 2020+ tender, companies submitted 213 bids, so there were 3.94 bids for each of the 54 units. In tender 2019+, the average of bids per unit was 2.74, and in tender 2018+, it was 3.77 bids.
The company divided the orders into three types according to how the area is affected by the bark beetle calamity. There are eight so-called calamity units, which cover the area most affected by bark beetles. Companies will harvest wood and do cultivation work on them. Lesy ČR themselves will sell the harvested timber.
The companies will only do cultivation work on the two post-disaster units, and the Czech Republic will ensure the extraction and sale of wood. The complex contract, where companies do mining, grow work, and sell timber, concerns 19 units.
Last year’s 2020+ tender winner was the mining group Petra z Hodonín, which won contracts for ten of the 54 competing units.
The Kloboucká lesní and the Uniles company owned by Agrofert holding finished behind the Petra group.
Last year, due to the bark beetle calamity, Lesy CR’s profits fell after profiting in 2018. The bark beetle calamity causes an overpressure of the wood supply on the market and a fall in prices. Lesy ČR expects a loss of CZK 1.9 billion this year.