russia lumber market Latest News

Log costs for Russian sawmills did not fall as the Russian government intended when it implemented a 25 percent log export tariff in 2008. Instead, sawlog prices have increased by 24 percent the past three years, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.

The world’s largest log exporter, Russia, increased the shipments of logs in the 1Q/11 after having declined for four years, reports the WRQ. Russian exports of softwood lumber have also gone up substantially, especially to China.

Despite large timber resources, Russia struggles to attract investments within the forest industry because of political and financial uncertainty in the country. Prices for softwood sawlogs were up in 2009, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.