In July, manufacturing of wooden products in Russia fell 20.4% year-on-year, according to data released by Russia’s government statistics agency Rosstat.
Since July 10, exports of wood products from Russia and Belarus to the European Union have completely ceased due to the sanctions. Previously, the United States and the United Kingdom had stopped importing timber from these countries. The sanctions have led to a dramatic fall in production in Russia’s heavily export-dependent industries.
In July, plywood production in Russia fell 42.4% year-on-year to 2.12 million m3. Production of wood pellets fell by 34.8% to 1.30 million tonnes. Production of particleboard, including OSB, fell by 26.3% to 6 million m3, and that of fibreboard fell by 25% to 416 million m2. Wood production decreased by 13.3% to 17.8 million m3.
Since March 25, 2022, British sanctions restrict the import of wood products from Russia and Belarus. If in January the supply of wood pellets from Russia to the UK amounted to 48,500 tons, in February it fell to 18,300 tons, and in March and April to 7,400 and 7,000 tons respectively. In May, the supply of wood pellets from Russia to the UK came to a complete halt. Ban on exporting Russian pellets to Europe leads to difficulties with waste disposal at Russian sawmills
In the first half of 2022, the volume of plywood exports from Russia to the European Union fell by 31% year-on-year. The reduction in plywood exports to Europe and the United States led to a drop in the capacity of use Russian plywood mills at 20-40%.
