subscribe to news Lesdrevmash 2022: experts focus on markets for timber products

For the first time, a three day WoodWorld 2022 Forum of the Timber Companies has opened within the Lesdrevmash 2022 international exhibition at Expocentre Fairgrounds.

The forum began with the conference “Trends in the wooden board sector against the backdrop of restricted supplies to the European market”, organised by the ProDerevo information and analytical portal and the LesPromInform magazine. The event was held in a hybrid format and became a platform for discussion of the most pressing and relevant issues.

The moderator was Mikhail Dmitriev, Development Director of the LesPromInform magazine. In particular, he noted that the timber and board sector is in a difficult situation. 6 million cubic metres of lumber, 2 million cubic metres of plywood and 2 million tonnes of pellets have fallen out of circulation. These problems are being actively worked out with trade missions and foreign trading companies.

A report “The state of the wooden boards and plywood industry: export challenges and the Russian market opportunities” was presented by Elizaveta Dukhovnaya, Senior Analyst at the WhatWood agency. As part of her presentation, she shared some conclusions about the situation in export markets for sales of wood products.

"Production in the industry is estimated to decrease by 7% this year compared to the same period in 2021. Exports remain at the level of 2019-2020. There is an increase in exports to countries such as China and Israel - around 60-70%, as well as to Saudi Arabia and Turkey - 20-30%. The CIS countries are also considered as markets. Producers are working on introducing their product into new global trade chains. The industry is not stopping and continues to adapt," the speaker noted.

Andrey Pecherin, Deputy Head of the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in Vietnam, took part in the conference. He spoke in detail about the woodworking situation in Vietnam and possible prospects for cooperation with the Russian woodworking industry. According to him, over the last few years the Vietnamese woodworking industry has made great progress due to the involvement of foreign investors and the establishment of large-scale furniture manufacturing enterprises.

Mamed Akhmedov, an expert from the export support group of the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in India, spoke about the possibility of supplying timber products to India. Conference participants also learned about the wood panel market in Turkey and its development potential.

The speakers exchanged views on export of plywood in the new reality, on the market of formwork and monolithic construction, possibilities of the Chinese enterprises to substitute the European equipment on the Russian market and production of board materials and plywood in the near future.

The Panel Discussion on Furniture Supply Localisation in Russia: Segments, Technology, Opportunities and Prospects, organised by FCProject and EXPOCENTRE AO, was also held on the first day of Lesdrevmash 2022. It was attended by representatives of such leading furniture and lumber companies as Lerom, Aristo, HOME, LIGA, KAMI and a number of others. They discussed the promotion of deep processing equipment, localisation of supplies for federal and regional chains, scarce commodity items in matrices, various aspects of pricing and many other issues of practical importance to the professional audience.