NEWS

Expect increased sanctions against trade with Russia and restrictions on financial transactions to interrupt and redirect shipments of forest products worldwide, experts say, likely causing a precipitous decline in forest products trade with Russia.

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WRI Market Insights 2022 (PDF)

Ukraine's Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources has asked the Council of the EU to ban imports of Russian forest and wood products, stating that not a single Russian tree should finance the furious destruction occurring in a peaceful country nor environmental disasters in the world.

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Forest certification programs PEFC and FSC have labeled wood and wood-based materials from Russia and Belarus as "conflict" wood that cannot be used in certified products. The use of wood covered by a certificate of origin before March 2, 2022, is not affected by the PEFC decision; the current policy on conflict trees is valid for six months. FSC stated that the wood "cannot be used in FSC products or be sold as FSC certified . . . as long as the armed violence continues."

Russia is the largest lumber exporter in the world and the seventh-largest exporter of forest products. Forest products exports from Russia have grown rapidly over the past five years, reaching a value of more than $12 billion in 2021. Sanctions will create both challenges and opportunities for our industry.

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Decorative Hardwoods Association (formerly HPVA) eNews Volume XV, Issue IV: DHA Supports Legislation To Improve Trade Enforcement | White House Launches Low-Carbon Construction Initiative | Canada's Lumber Giants Expand Into U.S. | Vietnam's Wood Industry Continues To Grow