Tobol Timber, one of Siberia\u2019s largest timber companies, is facing bankruptcy after Russia\u2019s Federal Tax Service filed a claim with a regional arbitration court over millions of rubles in unpaid taxes. The company\u2019s bank accounts were frozen on September 12, highlighting the mounting financial pressures on the Russian forestry sector amid Western sanctions.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2018, Tobol specializes in sawn and planed timber. The company has reported losses in six of its seven years, with profitability achieved only in 2021. In 2024, revenue fell 15.5% to 123 million rubles (approximately $1.5 million), while losses narrowed slightly to 72.9 million rubles ($870,000) from 87.5 million rubles in 2023. Owner Alexander Kiltau attributed the difficulties to EU sanctions and falling timber prices, noting the impact of commodity price fluctuations. Tobol is also facing lawsuits totaling about 20 million rubles ($240,000), including claims by the Tyumen regional forestry department over unpaid lease fees. A court hearing on the bankruptcy petition is scheduled for October 27.<\/p>\n
Tobol\u2019s collapse reflects wider pressures across Russia\u2019s forestry industry. Alexey Mordashov\u2019s Sveza Group recently closed its plywood mill in Tyumen, laying off 323 workers amid declining production and widening losses. In July, the Russian Pulp and Paper Association warned that a stronger ruble and collapsing exports to Europe could trigger widespread production halts. Structural challenges such as rail transport bottlenecks, weak demand in China, and intensified international competition continue to erode profit margins, leaving the sector increasingly vulnerable.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204,5812],"tags":[3427,3311,3383],"class_list":["post-97054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news","category-global-trends","tag-bankruptcy","tag-russia","tag-sawmill","topic-forestry","topic-lumber","topic-sawmilling","topic-wood-products","area-global","area-russia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n