Timber Industry

China is the leader in the global consumption of lumber, which is facing serious problems. These problems relate primarily to the real estate market, which is the main driver of demand for lumber in any country

Despite the significant narrowing of sales channels for Russian timber products over the past year, Russia remains part of the global wood product market, and, accordingly, is subject to trends in the global economy.

In general, there is a recovery in the wood-based panel market. The markets of chipboard (including OSB) and fiberboard are close to recovering to values before the introduction of Western sanctions

According to the operational data of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, the volume of furniture production in Russia for 6 months of 2023 increased by 8.6% compared to the same period of 2022 and amounted to 26.8 million pieces.

According to the results of last year, the export of Russian timber decreased by 70%, to 3.8 million m3. Such a sharp drop is due to the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 396 dated 03/18/2021 on restrictions on the export of softwood and hardwood timber

Financial indicators of timber companies in Russia reached their peaks in 2021, which was due to the recovery of consumer demand after the covid 2021, extraordinary prices for lumber and the growth of housing construction.

Despite the decline in the volume of real estate sold, the China Timber and Wood Products Distribution Association cannot say that the market of finishing materials and furniture was bad, because over the past 6 years, more than 1.6 billion square meters were commissioned annually.

The statistics of production and trade of wood products reflect goods that have historically been the main products obtained from forests, and for which there are established markets. For many forest owners and forest managers, wood products are by far the most important source of income and employment

Starting from the second quarter of 2022, the financial indicators of timber companies have been steadily falling by 13-16% quarterly and falling back to the level of three years ago.

The inclusion of IKEA products in the list of goods for which parallel imports are allowed runs counter to the need to restrict the Russian market from supplying furniture from "unfriendly" countries.