Russia's wood and wood products production and sales are down
This year, Russia's production and sales of wood and wood products have declined, with plywood production at its lowest point in 10 years.
According to a recent report in the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, as of June 2023, 77.8 million cubic metres of commercial timber have been harvested in Russia this year.
Despite the fact that production is increasing every month, it is actually still below last year's level. The agency says that this is still about a 12% drop from last year's 89 million cubic metres.
However, production of other products is growing. They are: wooden furniture 37 per cent; paper and paper products up 3.2 per cent; plywood production down 1 per cent; particleboard 5.83 per cent; veneer up 4.37 per cent; wood pellet production up more than 6 per cent; and parquet up 1.28 per cent, according to the Global Wood Trade Network.
Production of wood and wood products in Russia generally recovered well. With plywood and particleboard production recovering, Roslesinfga's director noted that demand on the timber market is expected to recover, at which point prices for plywood and sawn timber will rise.
The director general of the Russian Association of Furniture and Wood Processing Enterprises said that since December 2022, demand for wood furniture on the international market had fallen sharply, but that the situation had now changed.
With the market improving, production of some furniture products increased in the first few months of the year, he said.
In terms of export trends, Russia's supply of wood and wood products to China has grown in line with expectations against the backdrop of European sanctions.
From January to May 2023, Russia exported 780,000 cubic metres of qualified logs to China, down 35.18 per cent year-on-year; the value reached $600 million, down 33 per cent year-on-year.
Exports of sawn timber to China were 5.27 million m3, up 7.7% year-on-year; the value of production was $7.6 billion, up 5.4% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, sawn timber prices on the international market are falling, while prices in Europe and central Russia are steadily rising.
