One of the Italian forestry sector’s chronic weaknesses is the lack of reliable data and statistics. This deficit makes it difficult to develop consolidated and appropriate policies and strategies. The collection and analysis of average prices of forest products, both wood and non-wood, are essential to monitoring market trends and increasing the sector’s transparency.

Between 2022 and 2023, Etifor has partnered with Unioncamere and the Italian Telematic Commodity Exchange (BMTI) to develop a national price observatory for timber and other forest products. The project, funded by MASAF, involved 22 public agencies and collected data on 20 different wood species. The observatory gives industry technicians access to up-to-date information and will soon be available to the public, thus improving market planning and strategy. In addition, the project involved three regional and provincial agencies and ten chambers of commerce, ensuring broad institutional support and extensive geographic coverage.

Etifor played a crucial role in data collection and analysis, facilitating contact between Unioncamere, entities responsible for product sales and other industry experts. We promoted the observatory among various actors in the sector, improving collaboration between public and private entities. This helped create a detailed database on forest product prices, supporting more informed policies and improving sales and purchasing practices in the sector. As a result of this project, market information is now more transparent and accessible, positively influencing future forestry policies.