Victoria Abramchenko supported the increase in logistics subsidies for the timber industry

Victoria Abramchenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation, held a meeting on the development of the forest complex, which was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Forestry Service, the Federal Customs Service and the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia. The Deputy Prime Minister supported an increase in the maximum amount of export logistics subsidies to 500 thousand rubles. for the enterprises of the Russian timber industry. The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about measures to support the timber industry.

Victoria Abramchenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation: “Today, the industry is facing economic challenges associated with external sanctions pressure, a virtual logistical blockade and a decrease in world prices for timber products. Therefore, the government will extend the support measures launched last year for another year. At the end of 2022, the volume of financial state support for industrial enterprises amounted to more than 17 billion rubles. State support for the industry in 2023 will not be lower than last year”.

Also following the results of the meeting on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister:

The government will support timber industry enterprises that have a raw material base and processing capacities. They will prioritize the transportation of products by rail.
Specialists of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Transport will develop a new type of state support that will reduce costs when transporting timber products by sea and transshipping them in the ports of St. Petersburg, the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions.
The Ministry of Construction, together with the regions of the Northwestern Federal District, will select and launch pilot projects for the use of wooden structures in the program for the resettlement of citizens from emergency housing.

Olga Kalyuzhnaya, President of the Russian Forest Association: “The support measures announced by Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko are important and in demand by business, they take into account, among other things, the proposals of our Association. With restrictions on export markets, it is necessary to stimulate the demand for forest products in the domestic market. The use of wooden structures in the program for the resettlement of citizens from dilapidated housing and the use of preferential mortgage programs will be of great help to manufacturers of lumber, wood-based panels, glued wooden structures and other building materials. This can significantly increase the demand for timber products in the domestic market”.

According to the specialists of the Russian Forest Association, in addition to the announced measures for the timber industry, it is also important to lower the thresholds for entering new markets - work at the interstate level to reduce import duties on Russian products and remove barriers that hinder access to foreign markets.

Among the necessary logistics measures in the Association, the following are distinguished:

creation of a national container operator;
development of the Northern Sea Route;
expanding the capacity of the Volga-Baltic and Volga-Don canals;
putting into operation additional, as well as equipping and reconstructing existing checkpoints (primarily on the eastern border), ensuring the export of certain types of timber to the EAEU states and transit to neighboring countries;
modernization of the existing ports of the Black, Caspian and Azov seas to ensure the transshipment of timber cargo through them;
setting a monthly quota for the timber complex for sending direct container trains to the east.