Russian business associations \"Opora Rossii\" and \"Business Russia\" sent a set of proposals to Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko on measures to support the Russian domestic timber industry.\u00a0The timber merchants highlighted the main problems of the industry: logistics, unavailability of imported equipment, difficulties in attracting financing and servicing debts.\u00a0Market participants note that now it is necessary to solve not only the problems associated with sanctions, but also long-term issues that have become as acute as possible.<\/p>\n
One of the main proposals reflected in the document is the inclusion of the Russian forest industry in the list of victims due to sanctions pressure.\u00a0This should provide companies with access to state support measures and reduce the criteria established for timber industry companies for inclusion in the list of backbone organizations.\u00a0The authors of the letter also suggest that the state support the reorientation of production to the domestic market and set a lending rate of no more than 10% per annum for this purpose.\u00a0Export-oriented companies are proposed to be exempted from paying income tax for at least a year.<\/p>\n
In addition, experts say that logistics costs should not exceed $70, which should help keep pellet production profitable.\u00a0To solve the same issue in seaports, it is necessary to create a warehouse infrastructure.<\/p>\n
According to Sergey Tarasyuk, head of the timber industry sub-committee of Delovaya Rossiya and director of Angara Les, the proposed initiatives are relevant for the entire timber industry in Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe measures proposed in the documents should help the timber industry maintain marginality by reducing logistics costs.\u00a0It is proposed to temporarily exempt from weight control vehicles transporting wood and products of its processing;\u00a0work out the issue of increasing the maximum allowable mass of a vehicle to 55 tons.\u00a0We ask you to reduce the time for issuing all permits required for logging activities,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n
In addition, the authors of the letter propose to create a national system of voluntary forest certification and a special commission for exporters of wood products with a high share of value added, which would monitor and coordinate export prices, which would exclude dumping.<\/p>\n
Another measure to support pellet production, traditionally oriented to international markets, is the change in the country's fuel infrastructure and the transfer of boiler houses to biofuel.\u00a0Moreover, this problem needs to be solved in the near future.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the situation in the production of wood biofuels, Sergey Tarasyuk noted: \u201cThe market for pellets, traditionally supplied to the EU countries, is almost completely blocked.\u00a0Since April 15, many certificates, including ENplus, have been withdrawn, and without them, products cannot enter European markets.\u00a0Revenues of companies producing pellets have fallen by 80% in the last month alone.\u00a0It is possible to reorient the pellet market to domestic consumption, but this will require significant investments in the modernization of heating systems - the replacement of coal-fired boilers with pellet ones.\u00a0Not all regions will have funds for such transformations in the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter also contains a request to work out the possibility of supplying logging equipment, components and spare parts to it through third countries.\u00a0The authors emphasize the importance of creating engineering centers on the basis of leading universities and the development of priority investment projects and public-private partnerships in the field of forestry engineering.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russian business associations “Opora Rossii” and “Business Russia” sent a set of proposals to Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko on measures to support the Russian domestic timber industry.\u00a0The timber merchants highlighted the main problems of the industry: logistics, unavailability of … Continue reading