The board of the Chamber met with the head of state Alar Karis
On July 5, the traditional lunch of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the President of the Republic of Estonia took place. At the joint table, mainly the issues of Estonia's international competitiveness were discussed, as well as those related to the current economic situation.
The most important topics were the current situation of the wooden house sector, which was introduced to President Alar Karis by Alo Tamm, the CEO of Harmet OÜ, who was recently elected to the board of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who said that the demand in the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian markets has dropped by 80% in some places, and the decline in the production volumes of the Estonian manufacturing industry has been the largest in Europe. According to Tamm, the competitiveness of our wood sector is in a more difficult situation compared to other countries due to the lack of consistency in wood policy, and due to the significantly weakened Swedish and Norwegian krone.
The state of the tourism sector was also a topic, Feliks Mägus, chairman of the board of Nordic Hotels OÜ, gave an overview of its situation. Speaking about the previous years, he pointed out that in 2020-2022 the sector suffered a loss of approx. 80 million euros. "In conclusion, we are happy that there is work, especially compared to the period few years ago. But, at the moment there is a lot of uncertainty and it is difficult to make long-term plans," he said and added that the increase in the VAT rate, continued unequal competition in the form of platform accommodation and the growing share of the shadow economy significantly affect the competitiveness of the Estonian tourism sector.
Regarding Estonia's competitiveness, the president agreed that we need to monitor the activities of our neighbours and also our competitors in order to avoid undermining our own competitiveness.
The war in Ukraine was also discussed and the fact that Estonia should have a clear vision of how to support Ukraine in the long term. Estonian entrepreneurs have the opportunity to help Ukraine both today and in the future in building the country, and the Estonian state can help in creating opportunities and setting the focus.
The joint lunch of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the President of the Republic of Estonia is a long-standing tradition where we meet twice a year.
Foto: Kalev Lilleorg