Market trends at the Forest Industry Forum

On September 28-29, Metadynea's delegation took part in the St. Petersburg International Forest Industry Forum. The main topics for discussion were the current legislative initiatives and the impact of the pandemic COVID-19 on the pricing trends on the timber and lumber market.

LLC Metadynea was represented at the forum by a delegation headed by Igor Spassky, General Director. One of the main topics of discussion for the Russian forest industry representatives were new legislative acts. Including the ban on the export of roundwood (rough timber), which will come into force on January 1, 2022, and the impact of these initiatives on the entire industry.

“The forum participants noted that this stimulates the development of deep wood processing," said Andrei Dorokhov, a member of Metadynea's delegation at the forum and a strategy analyst. “At the same time, current capacities for a number of products, primarily for lumber, are already at high capacity utilization, and new projects are mostly at the development stage”.

Other factors affecting the timber and lumber market were the availability and cost of binders and governmental support.

The second main topic of discussion was the prices of timber and wood products. It was noted that as a result of complicated logistics, increased raw material prices and the implementation of pent-up demand for products, there was a shortage of processed wood products and a rise in product prices in 2021.

This year, the forest industry is on the rise. As the industry representatives themselves say, "Prices have skyrocketed," shares the discussion Maria Ilyina, a delegation member of LLC Metadynea, the lead resin sales manager for plywood production. “The question remains how long this trend will last”.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of pent-up demand, the massive growth of timber construction in the world and the imbalances in the world markets were cited as main drivers of market and price growth.

Igor Spassky, General Director of LLC Metadynea, summarizes results of the delegation's work as follows:

“We regularly participate in this forum, as this platform gives industry participants the opportunity to discuss main market trends together. In particular, to assess the impact of changes in the legal framework, as well as to identify new logistical challenges facing the industry in the context of the epidemiological situation. Our main goal is to understand and respond to market needs in a timely manner”.

LLC Metadynea is a part of Metafrax Group. It is the Russian market leader in production of synthetic resins for a wide range of applications. In particular, the company offers adhesive solutions for the production of plywood and board materials with a high degree of environmental friendliness.