"There is plenty of wood, there is a reserve, Hungarian forests are safe even in the energy crisis," said the Minister of Agriculture. According to István Nagy, a lot of misconceptions about forests and logging have appeared in the past period. It's not worth falling for them - M1 News reported.

Due to the protracted war and the gas crisis, firewood is now the best-selling commodity in wood stores. They buy more and more of it every day. Waiting lists have already formed in several places. Now people who used to heat with someone else are also buying.

The government has made logging easier so that everyone can get firewood at an affordable price and in the right amount, and that prices cannot be speculated on. The decree will only enter into force if the energy crisis reaches the level where domestic needs can no longer be covered by the planned production. Despite this, several NGOs and left-wing politicians have been spreading fake news about the cutting down of protected forests for days.

"We have no intention of cutting down the Hungarian forests!" István Nagy stated.

In a video uploaded to his social media page, the Minister of Agriculture stressed that he wants to increase forest areas instead of cutting them down. István Nagy emphasized that during the state of emergency, it is still prohibited to clear native forests in nature conservation or Natura 2000 areas.

Domestic forestry can meet the increased demand for firewood without harming nature - the vice-president responsible for rural development of the National Chamber of Agrarian Economy informed the news station.

"We currently have more than 2 million hectares of forest. The wood wealth of the 2 million hectares of forest is 400 million cubic meters, which is a huge number. The annual growth of forests is 13 million cubic meters. Of this, we produce only 7-7.5 million cubic meters each year. So the forests are absolutely not in danger," said József Luzsi, the national president of the National Chamber of Agriculture responsible for rural development.

This year, only the state forestry farms still have a valid permit for the planned extraction of 1.3 million cubic meters of firewood, which more than covers the increased needs.

Source: hiradó.hu