OPORA RUSSIA Forest Complex Commission sums up the results of work for 2022

March 13, 2023, Moscow — On March 9, a meeting of the OPORA RUSSIA Commission for the Timber Complex was held, at which a report on its activities for 2022 and a work plan for 2023 were approved. The profile commission of OPORA RUSSIA is headed by Andrey Goncharov, First Vice President of the Russian Forest Association.

2022 posed many challenges for the forest industry: we had to look for new sales markets, develop new supply chains, discuss and make proposals for new measures to support the Russian timber industry. In total, over the past year, about 30 important initiatives related to various aspects of the functioning of the forestry complex were considered:

  • postponing the digitalization of the forest complex;
  • digitalization of the wild-growing industry;
  • introduction of a moratorium on scheduled inspections of tenants of forest plots;
  • introduction of a moratorium on the termination of lease agreements for forest plots for timber harvesting;
  • expansion of the list of checkpoints across the state border for the export of sawn timber;
  • stimulating demand for fuel pellets (pellets) in the domestic market;
  • implementation of the program for the transition of boiler houses from coal to pellets and much more.

Andrey Goncharov, Chairman of the OPORA RUSSIA Timber Commission, First Vice-President of the Russkiy Les National Timber Association: associations. We have built activities not only to develop proposals to support the industry, but also on issues of strategic development. Thus, quite recently, by joint efforts, proposals were prepared and submitted to change the strategy for the development of the forestry complex until 2030”.

For the current year, the Commission has planned:

  • conducting a dialogue between authorities and business;
  • development of new measures to support forest complex enterprises in the face of sanctions pressure from unfriendly countries;
  • finishing the strategy for the development of the forest complex until 2030 and the plan for its implementation;
  • consideration of draft regulatory legal acts in the field of the forest complex and preparation of opinions on them;
  • creation and involvement in the active work of regional commissions for the forest complex;
  • preparation of proposals for amendments to the legislation of the Russian Federation regulating the issues of the forest complex.

According to the results of the meeting, the high efficiency of the Forestry Commission was noted, and an agreement was reached to maintain the momentum of work.