Director of the Forest Management Directorate Miloš Rajković claims that pellet producers have stocks of the energy source, but that, due to problems in implementing contracts and purchasing raw materials after the new Forest Law came into force, they have tacitly decided not to sell it to citizens, and he called on them to immediately direct existing quantities to the domestic market.
He pointed out to "Vijesti" that there are pellets in the pellet mills' warehouses and called on the pellet mills to direct these quantities towards the citizens of Montenegro, as proof of their care for the community, and to talk to the authorities about overcoming objective problems.
"Namely, the pellet mills signed contracts with the Forestry Administration and started implementing them, however, on January 1st of this year, the Forest Law came into force, where the responsibility for implementing the contract was taken over by the company "Crna Gora Šume", which has not yet substantially come to life and started functioning, which led to the blockade of the forestry system," Rajković officially told "Vijesti".
Pellet producers denied the claims of the director of the Forest Management Administration to "Vijesti", stating that his claims were not true and inviting him to come and personally verify that there were no supplies of the energy source.
Pellet heating has been unavailable to citizens who use it since the end of January, because domestic producers cannot take over wood raw materials from state forests, as the Forest Management Administration has suspended the receipt and shipment of wood assortments.
The Forestry Administration - Pljevlja Regional Unit informed producers in an official letter on January 15 that employees responsible for receiving and shipping wood assortments were unavailable "due to taking annual vacations in the period from January 12 to March 3", and the shortage has been ongoing since the end of January.
In their request to the Government and the relevant ministry, they warn that, due to a complete lack of raw materials, they will be forced to shut down production, which would further deepen the crisis and lead to a complete shortage of pellets on the market. As they state, without a quick and responsible response from the state, the consequences will be borne not only by producers, but also by citizens, public institutions and the entire energy system, which in recent years has relied on pellets as one of the key ecological solutions. The official letter was sent on January 25 by “Palengić trade” from Bijelo Polje, “DOO Nikola” from Berane and “Becom co” from Podgorica.
"Vijesti" contacted the Ministry of Agriculture regarding this problem, which informed the editorial staff that they are not responsible for issues related to the trade of goods and services in the internal market and did not answer the question of whether they had responded to the pellet manufacturers' requests.
The new state-owned company "Crna Gora Šume" was supposed to start operating at the beginning of last year, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management previously announced that it would receive 1,1 million euros for its establishment, along with a potential loan of 10.000.000 euros guaranteed by the state.
The Forest Law was adopted more than a year ago and it planned to establish a company in early 2025 that would take over the employees and all responsibilities of the existing Forest and Hunting Management Administration. The takeover of the business and registration of the new company have still not taken place, while the employees of the Administration have also said that they do not want to move to a new company.
The forests were thus blocked from January to July last year because there was no one to legally manage them, after which the Parliament adopted amendments to the Law proposed by MPs from the Europe Now Movement and the Socialist People's Party. These amendments once again returned the forests to the hands of the Forestry Administration, while the deadline for the implementation of the Law was postponed to the beginning of this year.
As confirmed in a joint response from three pellet producers to "Vijesti", the producers were received for a meeting last Monday by the Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Vladan Joković, but the talks did not yield any results.
"The conversation lasted half an hour, he listened to us, but no agreement was reached," the Peletaris told "Vijesti".
"The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management is not responsible for limiting the price of pellets, nor is it responsible for issues related to the trade of goods and services in the internal market. We emphasize that the Ministry is not legally able to act independently in the segment of price regulation. At the same time, we fully understand the needs of citizens for pellets, especially considering the importance of this energy source in the heating season. The Ministry continuously strives to contribute to finding a sustainable and systemic solution, through initiating discussions and coordinating with the relevant sectors and institutions, in order to overcome supply problems as soon as possible," said the department of Minister Vladimir Joković.
The Ministry reiterates that they have a full understanding of the needs of citizens and that they remain committed to acting exclusively within their legal jurisdiction.
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