Sveza plans to increase plywood sales to Africa and the Middle East in 2027, pursuing construction and furniture customers as EU sanctions continue to restrict access to the European market. The Russian producer sees room for further sales, although expensive and less predictable shipping is complicating export business.<\/p>\n
Export sales executive Alexey Lyapunov outlined the company\u2019s plans at a wood industry conference in Moscow. Film-faced plywood for construction accounts for most of Sveza\u2019s deliveries to the two regions. The company also wants to sell more to furniture manufacturers, including those in North Africa.<\/p>\n
Egypt is already an important customer. Sveza\u2019s shipments there rose by more than 10% in 2025, with the country accounting for about 15% of the company\u2019s export portfolio. Demand comes mainly from the Egyptian furniture industry.<\/p>\n
The expansion comes against the continuing exclusion of Russian plywood from the EU market. Brussels introduced restrictions on Russian wood imports in its fifth sanctions package in April 2022, following Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The restrictions cover plywood, making sales elsewhere more important for Russian producers seeking export orders.<\/p>\n
EU authorities have also stepped up scrutiny of indirect imports. In March 2025, the European Commission warned that Russian and Belarusian plywood was being repackaged and relabelled through companies in third countries. Its notice reiterated that the prohibition covers direct and indirect purchases, imports or transfers of plywood originating in Russia or Belarus, or exported from those countries. Routing a shipment through another market does not, by itself, remove those restrictions.<\/p>\n
For Sveza, the cost of reaching African buyers remains a substantial constraint. In an October 2025 statement, the company said its shipments to the continent travelled exclusively by sea, with delivery times ranging from two weeks to three months. Freight could represent up to 40% of the final product price.<\/p>\n
Sveza said at the time that export insurance and reimbursement of certain expenses through government support programmes helped it develop African sales. It forecast a 10\u201330% increase in shipments to the continent for 2025, although that announcement did not provide a final annual result.<\/p>\n
Lyapunov\u2019s latest comments point to continued transport difficulties in 2026, including changes to maritime routes and problems with shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The company is assessing orders against freight costs, delivery reliability and payment conditions, alongside demand.<\/p>\n
Sveza has not disclosed a shipment target for the 2027 expansion. Its stated approach is to concentrate on destinations where it can offer competitive terms while maintaining profitable deliveries and meeting commitments to existing customers.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sveza plans to increase plywood sales to Africa and the Middle East in 2027, pursuing construction and furniture customers as EU sanctions continue to restrict access to the European market.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n