Russian Industry and Trade Ministry proposes banning exports of birch wood, plywood logs, fuel chips to 'unfriendly countries'

MOSCOW. March 10 (Interfax) - The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry has proposed banning exports of birch wood, plywood logs, and fuel chips to "unfriendly countries" by the end of 2022, the ministry said on its Telegram channel.

"The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry has proposed banning exports of timber and a number of forestry products by the end of the year. The ban would affect the list of unfriendly countries, including the United States and European Union countries," the ministry said in the statement.

The ministry's proposed list of banned forestry items includes birch wood, fuel chips, and plywood logs according to the statement.

"Birch pulpwood, the main raw material for paper production, and fuel chips, which are subject to the ban, are critical goods for the European Union. Specifically, Russian producers of these materials account for 10% to 15% of their consumption in Finland, which means that it would be impossible to replace them all at once. In turn, the ban on exporting plywood logs, which is raw material for plywood production, amid EU anti-dumping duties on finished plywood from Russia would not allow European manufacturers to increase the capacity of their own enterprises by using Russian raw materials," the ministry noted.