The suspension of transit transportation of wood panels through Kazakhstan will affect 25% of large wood processing enterprises in Russia. This is what the Russian Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises told socialbites.ca.
“If the situation continues for some more time, up to a quarter of large enterprises will have to significantly reduce production volumes and impose mandatory holidays at enterprises,” the association’s press service said.
They noted that the loss of the only export direction, through which Russian companies sell 40% of all products, makes wood panel production unprofitable. According to the association, the total volume of Russian exports of woodworking products in monetary terms in the January-August period this year fell by 19.5% compared to the same period last year. The largest decrease in supply was recorded in the chipboard (minus 22%) and plywood (minus 20%) segments. Particleboard export volume decreased by 7.4%.
Timur Irtuganov, general director of the association, talked about the suspension of transit through Kazakhstan in mid-October. He stated that Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan) has now become the number one market for Russia’s exports. Now this direction is actually blocked – from the first days of September 2023, Kazakhstan Railways announced that it has stopped the transit of Russian goods to the south. Alexander Kotyumin, head of the transport department of ChFMK JSC, added that Kazakhstan does not approve documents for transit cargo transportation. That is, it is possible to export products to Kazakhstan, but beyond that, export to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan is no longer possible. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, transit through Kazakhstan will restart in November.
Previously happened It is known how expensive furniture will be in Russia.