Putin shelves Russian log export duties again

27 October, 2009

Russian roundwood export duty increases will be shelved for another year, prime minister Vladimir Putin has said.

It is the second time Mr Putin has delayed planned increases to duties, which have been the object of much criticism by the Finnish forestry sector – an importer of logs from Russia.

Mr Putin broke the news at a Finnish-Russian forest summit held in St Petersburg on October 25.

As far back as June 2006, Russia raised the export duty on softwood timber from €2.5/m³ to €4/m³. In February 2007, the government issued decree No. 75, which resulted in duties levied on unprocessed exported timber (apart from birch with a diameter of less than 15cm) increasing to €50/m³ by the start of 2009 – postponed a year ago.

The conference covered investment and innovation, forestry and forest resources and the development of competence in the forest cluster.

Russian said it was looking for Finnish timber processing investment in the Russian Far East.