{"id":9231,"date":"2023-08-04T16:42:33","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T06:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=9231"},"modified":"2024-10-21T20:30:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:30:44","slug":"russias-2023-timber-volume-drops-as-chinese-demand-plummets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/russias-2023-timber-volume-drops-as-chinese-demand-plummets\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia&#8217;s Timber Volume Drops as Chinese Demand Plummets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Russia&#8217;s timber production volume fell 5.4% during the first half of 2023 as the world&#8217;s most forested country grapples with sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to data obtained from Russian data agency Rosstat, a 35% slowdown in Chinese demand for processed logs has slowed Russian timber harvesting to a crawl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/russian-export-volumes-fall-amid-surge-in-conflict-timber\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">In May<\/a>, Wood Central reported that the foreign trade of Russian timber plunged 20% to 4.5 million cubic meters during the first quarter of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-Production-and-Export-of-Sawn-Timber-Wood-Central.jpg-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9232\" width=\"574\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-Production-and-Export-of-Sawn-Timber-Wood-Central.jpg-1.webp 656w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-Production-and-Export-of-Sawn-Timber-Wood-Central.jpg-1-600x562.webp 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-Production-and-Export-of-Sawn-Timber-Wood-Central.jpg-1-300x281.webp 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-Production-and-Export-of-Sawn-Timber-Wood-Central.jpg-1-449x420.webp 449w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 574px) 100vw, 574px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Up to the end of 2022, China imported 13 million cubic metres of Russian timber. Uzbekistan, the second largest buyer of Russian timber, imported 1.9 million cubic meters of sawn timber.<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The drop came after the EU introduced sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.&nbsp;The EU had previously been amongst the largest importers of Russian timber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Impact of sanctions on Russian and Belarussian timber<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022, PEFC and FSC suspended Russian and Belarussian certificates &#8211; making it impossible for Russian and Belarussian timber to carry PEFC and\/or FSC claims in the global market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the case of FSC,&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.investmentmonitor.ai\/features\/net-zero-drive-up-global-demand-timber-forests\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the decision to suspend Russia and Belarus resulted in the total supply of FSC-certified forests contracting by almost 35% since March 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For PEFC, the number is around 15%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russia was the world&#8217;s largest softwood export market before the Ukraine invasion, with more than&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.pefc.org\/pefc.org\/media\/2023-02\/f7932a4a-a02b-4c2d-9d1a-5c3aaf1b96cb\/b90c33ef-2e5e-533c-beec-de5d4e2eb1e1.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">20m hectares of Russian forest area dual-certified by FSC and PEFC.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This represents almost 25% of the world&#8217;s dual-certified forest area &#8211; with more than 20,000 Chinese&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/app.powerbi.com\/view?r=eyJrIjoiN2U3NGMyNWEtZTAxNS00MzVhLWExNmMtOThhZjdiYjQ4MWNkIiwidCI6IjEyNGU2OWRiLWVmNjUtNDk2Yi05NmE5LTVkNTZiZWMxZDI5MSIsImMiOjl9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FSC&nbsp;<\/a>or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pefc.org\/find-certified\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PEFC&nbsp;<\/a>certificates potentially exposed to Russian timber.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday Wood Central spoke to key figures connected to forest certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With multiple reports of Russian and Belarussian timber entering global markets via China, &#8220;the key is to vigilant with the FSC and PEFC formal claims process.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This means checking your supply chain and ensuring they have the correct claim on the packaging, invoice or delivery docket.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"PDJ9JeOaF_w\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is Responsible Forestry Certification with SCS?\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PDJ9JeOaF_w?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>There are two global forest certification schemes &#8211; PEFC and FSC. Footage courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Scsglobalservices\">@Scsglobalservices.<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Russia&#8217;s reliance on Chinese supply chains for export<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 83% of Russia&#8217;s timber export goes through Chinese supply chains,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/russian-conflict-timber-continues-to-finance-ukraine-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sparking fears that Russian timber is entering global supply chains via Turkey, Kazakhstan and China.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"U3kqA4gDd14\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Russia-China border town shows countries\u2019 deepening ties\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U3kqA4gDd14?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>As the \u201cno limits\u201d partnership between Russia and China deepens, there\u2019s no better example of the countries\u2019 bond than along their 2,600-mile shared border. Footage courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@NBCNews\">@NBCNews.<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Russian export of unprocessed timber saw a staggering decline during the first six months of 2023.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The volume of exported unprocessed timber dropped from 2.5 million cubic metres in the first half of 2022 to just 1.18 million cubic metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides China, most Russian logs are exported to a block o nine countries, including Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Logs from Russia stacked outside Manzhouli, a Chinese border town, where the wood is processed and then shipped throughout the country and the world. China now makes up more than 60% of Russia's global trade. (Photo Credit: Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times in 2021 taken before the Ukraine War)\" class=\"wp-image-8261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-1068x711.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-1920x1279.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-631x420.jpg 631w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1-1320x879.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Logs-from-Russia-stacked-outside-Manzhouli-a-Chinese-border-town-where-the-wood-is-processed-and-then-shipped-throughout-the-country-and-the-world.-Credit.Lam-Yik-Fei-for-The-New-York-Times-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Logs from Russia are stacked outside Manzhouli, a Chinese border town, where the wood is processed and shipped throughout the country and the world. China now makes up more than 80% of Russia&#8217;s global trade. (Photo Credit: Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times in 2021, taken before the Ukraine War).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The exports of logs to China saw a sharp contraction, with reports that China is experiencing major economic headwinds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week the Chinese&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.stats.gov.cn\/english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Bureau of Statistics&nbsp;<\/a>reported that China&#8217;s GDP for April-June was 6.3%, lower than the economists&#8217; forecast of 7.3% in a Reuters survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Growth-rate-of-Investment-in-Real-Estate-Development-National-Bureau-of-Statistics-in-China.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9146\" width=\"574\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Growth-rate-of-Investment-in-Real-Estate-Development-National-Bureau-of-Statistics-in-China.jpg 660w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Growth-rate-of-Investment-in-Real-Estate-Development-National-Bureau-of-Statistics-in-China-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Growth-rate-of-Investment-in-Real-Estate-Development-National-Bureau-of-Statistics-in-China-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Growth-rate-of-Investment-in-Real-Estate-Development-National-Bureau-of-Statistics-in-China-630x420.jpg 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 574px) 100vw, 574px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">China\u2019s real estate prices have been in freefall for more than 18 months. The slowdown in Chinese timber consumption has been connected to real estate development.  (Source: National Bureau of Statistics in China).<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, there are fears that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/china-economic-outlook-beijing-paul-krugman-nyt-stagnation-japan-2023-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China could be heading for a 1990s Japan-type stagnation.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"856\" data-id=\"6142\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-1024x856.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-1024x856.png 1024w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-600x502.png 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-300x251.png 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-768x642.png 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-696x582.png 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-1068x893.png 1068w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation-502x420.png 502w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-factory-gate-inflation.png 1220w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"856\" data-id=\"6141\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-1024x856.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-1024x856.png 1024w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-600x502.png 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-300x251.png 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-768x642.png 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-696x582.png 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-1068x893.png 1068w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1-502x420.png 502w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/china-s-consumer-inflation-rate-1.png 1220w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Earlier this week, Wood Central reported on China&#8217;s concerning consumer inflate rate and factory gate inflation prices.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The volume of log exports dropped by 32.2% year-on-year, now standing at 958,000 cubic metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The value of these exports followed a similar trend, decreasing by 34.8% to USD 118.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Western companies leave a hole in Russia&#8217;s production capacity<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/western-forest-companies-offload-plants-across-russia-as-timber-shortage-looms\/\">In January<\/a>, Wood Resources International reported that the decision by Western companies to leave the Russian market would lead to a drop in production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Western companies began to exit from Russian assets immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exodus from Russia was associated not only with political but also with economic reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result of the sanctions, Russian factories that supplied products to Western markets found themselves without sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image001-36.jpg.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9235\" width=\"574\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image001-36.jpg.webp 575w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image001-36.jpg-300x200.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 574px) 100vw, 574px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/western-forest-companies-offload-plants-across-russia-as-timber-shortage-looms\/\">Western companies began a fire sale of Russian forest assets <\/a>immediately after the invasion of Ukraine. <br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ikea, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lesprom.com\/en\/news\/firms\/Mets228_Group__29277\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mets\u00e4 Group<\/a>, Stora Enso, Krono Group, Egger,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lesprom.com\/en\/news\/firms\/Mayr-Melnhof_Holz_29302\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mayr-Melnhof Holz&nbsp;<\/a>and Kronospanhave exited from Russian assets during the first half of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This leaves the Russian industry especially vulnerable to a contraction in China&#8217;s economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chinese downturn is having a major impact on Russia&#8217;s production levels<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Without sales to Europe, sawmills in North-West of Russia rushed to serve the Chinese market, where they&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lesprom.com\/en\/news\/Russian_lumber_exporters_began_to_compete_fiercely_with_each_other_in_Chinese_market_107947\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">faced competition<\/a>&nbsp;from Siberian and Far Eastern sawmills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Russia continued to be China\u2019s top source of timber imports during the 2010s. Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has disrupted  global markets for wood products &amp; agricultural commodities sourced from forests. (1\/2) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3y0ZJnhvtf\">pic.twitter.com\/3y0ZJnhvtf<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Forest Trends (@foresttrendsorg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/foresttrendsorg\/status\/1659657882462199809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chinese downturn affected the production of windows and wooden frames, which witnessed a sharp decline of 29.2%, with the output reaching 152 thousand square metres in the first half of 2023.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, the production of doors, wooden frames and thresholds also experienced a slight decrease of 0.4%, amounting to 10.4 million square metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"744\" height=\"506\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Crisis-looms-over-Russian-pulp-and-paper-industry-amidst-sanctions-and-plummeting-Chinese-demand.-Photo-Credit-Deposit-Photos-Wood-Central.jpg\" alt=\"Crisis looms over Russian pulp and paper industry amidst sanctions and plummeting Chinese demand. (Photo Credit: Deposit Photos)\" class=\"wp-image-9130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Crisis-looms-over-Russian-pulp-and-paper-industry-amidst-sanctions-and-plummeting-Chinese-demand.-Photo-Credit-Deposit-Photos-Wood-Central.jpg 744w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Crisis-looms-over-Russian-pulp-and-paper-industry-amidst-sanctions-and-plummeting-Chinese-demand.-Photo-Credit-Deposit-Photos-Wood-Central-600x408.jpg 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Crisis-looms-over-Russian-pulp-and-paper-industry-amidst-sanctions-and-plummeting-Chinese-demand.-Photo-Credit-Deposit-Photos-Wood-Central-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Crisis-looms-over-Russian-pulp-and-paper-industry-amidst-sanctions-and-plummeting-Chinese-demand.-Photo-Credit-Deposit-Photos-Wood-Central-696x473.jpg 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Crisis-looms-over-Russian-pulp-and-paper-industry-amidst-sanctions-and-plummeting-Chinese-demand.-Photo-Credit-Deposit-Photos-Wood-Central-618x420.jpg 618w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As reported on Monday, the Russian pulp and paper industry also suffers from sanctions and plummeting Chinese demand. (Photo Credit: Deposit Photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Production volumes in steep decline as domestic consumption drops<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Production volumes have been in freefall,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/whatwood.ru\/english\/plywood-production-in-russia-fell-by-41-2-in-january\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">with Rosstat reporting that plywood production fell 41.3% in January 2023<\/a>&nbsp;after&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/whatwood.ru\/english\/in-2022-plywood-production-in-russia-fell-to-its-ten-year-low\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dropping to a decade low of 3.241 cubic metres at the end of 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"995\" height=\"709\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central.jpg 995w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central-696x496.jpg 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central-589x420.jpg 589w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Russia-plywood-prpduction-in-2012-to-2022-million-cubic-metres-Wood-Central-100x70.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 995px) 100vw, 995px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Russian plywood production between 2012 and 2022. The numbers for 2023 have plummeted, with a 41.3% drop in plywood production reported in January 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the latest data, the total volume of harvest for the first six months was 64.5 million cubic metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The harvesting of softwood logs amounted to 40.2 million cubic metres, reflecting a 5% reduction, while hardwood log harvesting decreased by 5.4% to 19.1 million cubic metres.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The harvesting of fuelwood experienced the sharpest decline, dropping to 5.2 million cubic metres, an 8.8% decrease from the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lesprom.com\/en\/analytics\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lesprom Analytics<\/a>, the average price of logs recorded a 3.8% slide to USD 123.9 per cubic metre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus witnessed a severe decline, with a threefold decrease in unprocessed timber imports from Russia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uzbekistan also recorded a significant downturn of 1.8 times, and Tajikistan experienced a 1.5 times reduction in its imports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia&#8217;s timber production volume fell 5.4% during the first half of 2023 as the world&#8217;s most forested country grapples with sanctions. According to data obtained from Russian data agency Rosstat, a 35% slowdown in Chinese demand for processed logs has slowed Russian timber harvesting to a crawl. In May, Wood Central reported that the foreign [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[52,53,32],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[69],"class_list":{"0":"post-9231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-asia","8":"category-europe","9":"category-global-news"},"authors":[{"term_id":69,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"woodcentral","display_name":"Wood Central","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9231"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9241,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9231\/revisions\/9241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9231"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=9231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}