A meeting of the Council for the Development of the Forest Complex of the Russian Federation under the Federation Council was held in Vladivostok

On July 13, Vladivostok hosted an off-site meeting of the Council for the Development of the Forestry Complex of the Russian Federation, chaired by Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Yuri Vorobyov. The event was attended by representatives of the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Office of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Federal Tax Service, the Federal Customs Service, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Accounts Chamber, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the associations. The Russian Forest Association was represented by First Vice-President Andrey Goncharov.

The participants discussed the work of the forest complex in the Far Eastern Federal District, the implementation of the recommendations of the previous meeting and additions to the strategy for the development of the forest complex of the Russian Federation until 2030.

The central topic of the meeting was the reorientation of Russian timber complex products to the domestic market in the context of anti-Russian sanctions and the closure of export destinations, as well as the development of a program to ensure the personnel and technological sovereignty of the industry.

Yuri Vorobyov, Chairman of the Council for the Development of the Timber Complex, Vice Speaker of the Federation Council: “First of all, it is necessary to focus on the scenario in which most of the products of the Russian forest complex will be sold on the domestic market. As you know, now we export 51% of all products, and due to the sanctions and the closure of these export areas, we have practically lost the pace of development of the forest industry”.

Drivers for the development of the domestic market should be the development of wooden housing construction, the construction of new and modernization of existing pulp and paper mills, the integrated use of low-value wood and production waste.

The meeting also touched upon the preparation of additions and amendments to the Strategy for the Development of the Forestry Complex of the Russian Federation until 2030 - the Council members discussed adjustments to key parameters for the development of the forestry complex, as well as the balance of production, consumption, exports and imports of its products.