The Russian prime minister has said his country cannot continue to export roundwood.
Russia exports 12 million m3 of roundwood to Finland every year, Mikhail Fradkov told a timber industry meeting in the country’s central region of Kostroma.
But, despite having a quarter of global forest reserves, Russia still imports timber and paper products worth US$3bn every year from its Scandinavian neighbour.
Mr Fradkov said cutting-edge technology should be used to drive the Russian timber industry forward. “Russia has enough raw materials and skilled workers,” he said. “Those are our competitive advantages.”
But he said these had not been fully exploited and suggested that foreign partners could help solve the problems.
