Meeting of the President of the Russian Federation on timber industry in Arkhangelsk

Photo: Alexei Filippov, RIA Novosti, Kremlin press service

On February 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the development of the timber industry in Arkhangelsk. The central theme was the challenges faced by the industry due to sanctions. The head of state stressed that the growth potential remains, even despite external restrictions.

One of the priorities of the President was the need to build a strategic vector for the development of the timber industry, as well as to continue the development of modern technologies and equipment for timber processing.

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation: “Of course, it is necessary to support our woodworking enterprises and specialists engaged in this area, companies that have already invested and continue to invest in deep wood processing. We need to help businesses build efficient logistics flows in order to establish relationships with new customers and partners”.

During the meeting, Vladimir Putin gave several instructions affecting the work of the timber industry complex:

  • make more affordable mortgages for individual wooden houses, as well as explore the possibility of using the mechanism of escrow accounts in this sector;
  • start using wooden houses to resettle emergency housing;
  • give businesses a deferment in paying rent for logging sites;
  • implement prompt support measures - help in solving the logistical problems of transporting woodworking products;
  • to allocate 15 billion rubles. for the renewal of boiler houses in the next two years.

Olga Kalyuzhnaya, President of the Russian Forest Association: “It is gratifying to note that the measures to support the timber industry proposed by the head of state contain the most important steps that the Association has been talking about over the past 2-3 years - from the development of the wooden housing construction and the domestic biofuel market before deferrals to enterprises for paying for forest plots”.

According to the results of the presidential meeting, instructions will be given to the relevant federal and regional ministries and departments.