Builders announced an acute shortage of timber

"In Russia, the consumption of sawn timber for the construction of wooden housing construction, including the truss systems of all low-rise construction, is about six million cubic meters per year. At the same time, the deficit level reaches from 30% to 40%, that is, 2-2.5 million cubic meters. . In turn, the deficit continues to provoke an increase in value, "- the press service of the Association of Wooden Housing Construction quotes finanz.ru .

A sharp rise in prices for sawn timber has been noted in Russia since the fall of 2020 against the background of increased demand for them almost all over the world, which, in turn, has formed their shortage and rising prices. In particular, the cost of the board has increased by 32% in just three weeks of June, since the beginning of 2020 it has almost tripled. As a result, the price of a wooden house in Russia has risen by an average of 40% since October 2020.

The Association of Wooden Housing believes that the most logical solution to the problem of wood shortages and price increases would be to impose export restrictions, since about 31 million cubic meters of sawn timber produced in Russia go abroad, while the deficit accounts for only 6-8% of this volume. ...

At the moment, the possibility of maintaining duties for the export of sawn timber, quotas for supplies to the domestic market, or stimulating domestic supplies from the state are being considered. It is also possible to subsidize producers, end buyers, cancellation of subsidies for exporters' logistics costs and other measures. The Association of Wooden Housing Construction is considering all the options in order to draw up a final proposal for the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

At the same time, earlier, back in May, the Association of Wooden Housing Construction sent a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a request to curb price increases and temporarily restrict the export of sawn timber. Later, the Russian government ordered from July 1 to introduce new duties on the export of timber with a moisture level exceeding 22%. The duty rate will be 10%, the decision will affect the export of softwood, oak, beech and ash, the duties will be in effect until the end of the year. However, the association considered these measures insufficient to stabilize prices, since the export mainly consisted of lumber of lower moisture content.

From January 1, 2022, export deliveries of untreated or roughly processed wood from the territory of the Russian Federation must be banned . President Vladimir Putin addressed the government with this order. China, meanwhile, has become a leader in timber supplies to the United States and Europe . Experts have no doubt that the illegally felled Russian forest accounts for a large share of this.

Previously, a similar situation developed in the rolled metal market. At the end of last year, in 2020, a number of Russian developers complained about the rise in the cost of metal, which, among other things, contributed to an increase in the cost of construction. At a government meeting on June 24, the Ministry of Economic Development proposed to introduce temporary export duties on ferrous and non-ferrous metals from August 1 to December 31. For his part, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed to urgently propose to the government draft decisions on the introduction of temporary export duties on the products of metallurgists.