Russian sawn timber production declined by 22.4% between January-April 2009, according to government statistics published by Lesprom Network.
Sawn output for the period totalled 1.7 million m³, while plywood output dipped by 36.3%, and chipboard was down 30.9%.
One area to actually grow was wooden crate manufacture, which rose 0.9%.
Market saturation and a decline in demand and prices are the reasons for the decline, with several mills having closed.
