Russia\u2019s Ilim Timber is suspending plywood production at its Bratsk mill in Siberia after losing access to key export markets following Western sanctions against Russia.<\/p>\n
The plywood mill, located in the Irkutsk region, announced in April that production would gradually be halted by July 2026, according to regional reports.<\/p>\n
The company has also started reducing staff, with up to 50 employees per month expected to leave the operation. The mill currently employs around 600 people, down sharply from roughly 1,300 workers previously.<\/p>\n
The deterioration of the Bratsk operation follows the collapse of exports to Europe, which had been the mill\u2019s main sales market before 2022.<\/p>\n
Bratsk specialized in softwood plywood products that had been widely sold across European markets before sanctions and trade restrictions effectively closed the route for Russian wood products after Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The shutdown highlights the continuing difficulties facing parts of Russia\u2019s wood processing industry more than four years after European sanctions disrupted long-established trade flows.<\/p>\n
Alongside the plywood problems, the Bratsk facility had already suspended fiberboard production earlier because of weak demand.<\/p>\n
Attempts to redirect exports toward Asian markets, particularly China, reportedly failed to compensate for the loss of European buyers. Chinese processors showed limited interest in Bratsk softwood plywood, according to regional media reports.<\/p>\n
The domestic Russian market has also offered little support for the mill, where buyers have increasingly turned toward lower-priced plywood produced in central Russia, where supply remains abundant.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s plywood sector was heavily dependent on European demand before sanctions were introduced in 2022. European buyers had been among the largest importers of Russian birch and softwood plywood, particularly for construction and industrial applications.<\/p>\n
Since then, Russian producers have attempted to redirect shipments toward Asia, the Middle East and domestic markets, often at lower prices and with significantly higher transport costs. No official comment had been issued by Ilim Timber management at the time of publication.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4713,5204],"tags":[3311,3264],"class_list":["post-98648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-companies-in-the-timber-industry","category-daily-news","tag-russia","tag-timber","topic-forestry","topic-lumber","topic-price-analysis-and-info","topic-sawmilling","topic-wood-products","area-europe","area-global","area-russia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n