WRI: Lumber Trade Flows Halted by Trade Sanctions on Russia

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed lumber trade flows almost instantly, said recently published Wood Resources International (WRI) Market Insights 2022.

The sanctions imposed by Europe, North America and major markets in Asia have halted shipments from not only Russia and Ukraine, but from Belarus as well. The collective lumber exports from these three countries had totalled 34 million cubic metre in 2021. Nearly one-fourth of that volume was exported to countries that have currently imposed restrictions, WRI noted.

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The certification organizations FSC and PEFC have labelled all the timber from Russia and Belarus as “conflict timber”. Consequently, the timber from these countries cannot be used in certified products. This in turn will affect any country that buys wood from Russia and Belarus to manufacture certified products.

The sanctions would mean that approximately 10 million cubic metre of softwood lumber is unlikely to reach Europe and outside China Asian markets. Europe will be hit badly as lumber import volume accounts for approximately 10% of the total consumption in the continent.

Although China has not introduced any trade barriers with Russia, there are high chances of interruptions in shipments between the two countries, taking into account the overall crisis situation.