Results of the meeting of the Council on the development of the forestry complex of the Russian Federation under the Federation Council

On July 12, in Arkhangelsk, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Yuri Vorobyov held a visiting meeting of the Council on the development of the forestry complex of the Russian Federation. The event was attended by senators of the Russian Federation, representatives of relevant federal and regional authorities, the scientific community and business. The Russian Timber Association was represented at the meeting by its first vice-president Andrey Goncharov.

Meeting participants discussed the results of previously taken operational measures to support the forest industry, as well as the progress in implementing long-term measures aimed at developing the domestic market.

Yuri Vorobyov, Chairman of the Council for the Development of the Forestry Complex, Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council: “Currently, long-term measures are being implemented aimed at developing the domestic market for forest products: this is wooden house construction, the use of solid biofuel in boiler houses, and also ensuring the technological sovereignty of the industry, the formation of new transport corridors.".

Yuri Vorobyov noted that recently there has been an increase in the production of wood products that have undergone deep processing. This applies to paper, veneer, some types of boards, furniture and wooden houses.

At the same time, lumber production is not actually growing. Moreover, the problem of accumulation of low-quality wood, deciduous pulpwood and sawmill waste is becoming more acute. As a result of the discussion, it was decided to develop a special program to solve this issue.

The meeting participants also discussed the progress of implementation of the Council decisions adopted following the meeting in November 2023, namely, issues of regulatory regulation of the industry, forest management and the introduction of unmanned systems for the needs of the forestry complex.

Summarizing the results of the event, Yuri Vorobyov emphasized that when forming the final decision of the Council, all proposals for supporting the forestry complex, voiced during the discussion, will be taken into account. The next meeting of the Council is scheduled for November this year. It is planned to consider the development of a Strategy for the Development of the Forestry Complex, the use of space technologies for the effective management of forest resources and summing up the results of the Council’s activities in 2024.