The Timber Market in the 1920s, Amid Difficult Postwar Recovery and New States

The new economic and political map of Central-Eastern Europe also impacted the Baltic timber economy. The chapter underlines the importance of reestablishing Poland as an independent state, the largest one in the area. The new political configuration also included the existence of the Free City of Danzig, an entity without many requisites of a state (no army, no foreign economic policy, a customs union with Poland, etc.) but still with specific importance for the Polish international timber trade. However, this situation profoundly modified the previous relationships between the timber producers, their local merchants, and the merchants and shippers in Danzig. The latter were now just technical instruments of a decision process concentrated in Poland. The second relevant aspect of the chapter deals with the analysis of the role of the Soviet Union in international timber trade in the 1920s. After a necessary reorganization phase, the old strong relationship with the main customer, Great Britain, retook its role in the new international situation. The chapter also includes an analysis of the price dynamics produced by Soviet strategies and the impact on Swedish and Finnish exports in that period.