88% of Russian plywood is exported to China.

China serves as the world’s manufacturing powerhouse, yet its growing dependence on Russian timber poses significant risks to the global supply chain for plywood products, affecting both primary and secondary processing sectors.

Russia is increasing plywood production, with exports to China rising over 45% in the past year, based on new figures from China Customs.

80,000 Hours

That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
Kieran Anders Forestry

Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
Promoting safety in the workplace

It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
Glasfryn Fencing and Sawmill

Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
Keeping Timber Hauliers Safe

Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.

FIND US ON

Currently, over 347,400 cubic metres of plywood—accounting for 88% of the nation’s total plywood imports—originated from Russia during the year ending December 2024, up from 249,000 cubic metres (81.6% of total imports) in the previous year.

China is undeniably the largest plywood producer globally, with 9,800 manufacturers generating over 100 million cubic metres—more than 70% of worldwide production—before distributing it to international markets.

Recently, environmental organisations have expressed concerns about China acting as a broker for Russian and Belarusian timber. Plywood made from Russian birch is entering European markets through China, Vietnam, and various supportive countries across Eurasia.

As reported by China Customs, the top destinations for Chinese timber exports are the Philippines (8.3% or 1,010,500 cubic metres, which boasts extensive secondary processing facilities), the United Kingdom (6.5%, which has a total ban on Russian timber), the United Arab Emirates (6.1%), Saudi Arabia (5%, where the $500 billion NEOM Gigacity is under construction), Vietnam (4.2%, which is currently driving a surge of imports into the US construction market), Japan (4.2%), and Australia (4%).

New data reveals that Russia and Belarus represent 50% of all Chinese lumber imports. Currently, over 13 million cubic metres of lumber arriving at Chinese ports originate from Russia (45.8%) and Belarus (4.3%), offsetting declines in production from Finland, Sweden, and Germany.

It remains unclear how much of this plywood and lumber is entering global markets, potentially violating sanctions imposed by the UK, European Union, and several Western nations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A 2023 investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists found that over 100,000 tonnes of lumber linked to Russia and Belarus were entering the EU trading zone through ten allied nations, including China.

Prior to the invasion, Russia and Belarus contributed 12% of all EU timber product imports classified under Chapter 44 of the Harmonised Tariff Schedule. However, there is a persistent high demand for birch, beech, pine, and oak products, which has led to increased trade through secondary markets, indicating attempts to mask origins to bypass sanctions.”

Sorce; Wood Central