Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov on Wednesday criticised calls for lifting export duties on unprocessed timber, Itar-Tass reports.
“Statements were made again at a meeting of the Council of Forestry industrialists today that the duties should be lifted. But this is the wrong path to follow. We must develop our own wood processing industry instead,” Zubkov said opening an expanded meeting of the Council of the Union of Forestry Industrialists and Timber Exporters of Russia.
“It is in our common interests to make the forestry industry more efficient and competitive and to create a modern, high-tech and environmentally safe industry instead of the current logging operations,” the prime minister said.
In his view Russia should “create conditions for attracting foreign investments in the industry, and not only capital but also technology and equipment.”
Zubkov said not only investment, but technology was needed for development of the timber sector.
“We have money, but technology is important to us,” he said when visiting the trade fair “Russian Timber” in Vologda on Wednesday.
“We should develop cooperation with foreign partners in creating modern wood-processing facilities in Russia,” he added.
“We should invite Finns, Swedes and Canadians in order there is competition,” Zubkov said. He stressed that the most important issue was the development of national machine building.
He examined an imported simulator for training timber processing techniques. Russia paid 230,000 euros for the device.
“They are far ahead of us, and we should move forward on our own,” Zubkov said.
He visited an exhibition of one of Finnish firms that supplies equipment to Russia.
“Your prime minister has recently visited us, and we talked much about the need to develop machine building. Enough of our transporting round timber; we need investment in processing to make it stay here, “ Zubkov told representatives of the firm. He advised them to develop closer cooperation with the Vologda regional administration in the timber sector.
Upon arrival in Vologda earlier in the day, Zubkov visited Russia’s largest Sokolsky woodworking plant, the government press service told Itar-Tass.
The plant currently employs 1,400 workers. The enterprise’s main sphere of activity is the production of modern LVL houses, bearing-wall houses, panels, as well as furniture board.
Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said after a meeting with the prime minister on December 3 that the production of construction materials in Russia should be developed as a matter of priority, because one-third of the forestry sector markets products, including costly house-building structures at present are imported, which “within the framework of the rapidly developing housing market is not quite appropriate and admissible.”
After visiting the plant the prime minister intends to see the all-Russian exhibition-fair Russian Forest which features advanced scientific projects in the forest use and management. Itar-Tass learnt that not only Russian enterprises, but also foreign ones are represented at the exhibition. Zubkov is expected to give the main attention to the organisation and development of the production of wooden houses and advanced bioenergetics technologies.