OREANDA-NEWS. August 19, 2010. Production of sawn hardwood in the Russia declined from 2.04 million cubic metres in 2008 to 1.91 million cubic metres in 2009. Sawn hardwood exports from the remained stable at a low level of around 375,000 cubic metres, ITTO reported.

The implication is that, once again, reduced global demand for sawn hardwood negatively affected the efforts of the Russian government to reduce dependence on log exports and expand the domestic wood processing industry.

Several investment projects have been postponed as a result. The Russian government also decided to delay the planned rise in log export duties from Euro 15 per cubic meter to Euro 50 per cubic meter, originally scheduled to be implemented from 1 January 2010, by a further 12 months.

Demand for sawn hardwoods from overseas within Russia itself shows little consistency, with domestic resources, limited secondary processing capacity, and a lack of organisation in end-user sectors playing the key roles. As a result, imports of sawn hardwoods into Russia were very low once again last year, estimated by the UNECE/FAO Review at no more than 118,000 cubic metres.