Opora Rossii asked to cancel export duties on wet sawn timber

Opora Rossii asked Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko to cancel export duties on uncured lumber, as well as to subsidize the transportation of timber cargo through all seaports of the country. These initiatives are indicated in a letter signed by the president of the organization Alexander Kalinin dated April 20, the newspaper writes. Vedomosti.

Opora Russia proposes to abolish the customs duty on the export of lumber with a moisture content of more than 22%. Instead, the organization proposed introducing a “lowest possible” duty rate of 1% for three years. According to Opora Rossii, this is a “reasonable period for business to adapt to new conditions,” and after this period, the duty can be increased “to a barrage level.”

Andrey Goncharov, chairman of the Opora Rossii commission for the timber industry, says natural moisture sawn timber accounts for 20–30% of all sawn timber exports from Russia. He told Vedomosti that many large sawmill companies “have long invested in drying facilities in order to be able to sell the product for export.” “The proposed measures will help small and medium-sized businesses, especially enterprises in the Far East, where there is a lack of drying capacity,” he said.

In 2022, timber exports from Russia decreased on 10%. Roslesinforge explained this by the influence of sanctions and the crisis in the Asian real estate market. In addition, against the backdrop of restrictions on the export of roundwood from Russia, its exports abroad over the past year were expected to fall by about 70%, to 3.5-3.8 million cubic meters. m. China remained the main importer of Russian round timber, followed by Finland and Belarus.

Details – in the material “Kommersant” “Log Rus'”.