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Expert: Russian woodworkers need to focus on Northern regions

The International Forum of Associations and Consortiums of the Northern Territories is a key event over Russia's chairing the Arctic Council in 2021-2023

TOMSK, April 26. /TASS/. The Russian woodworking industry, facing dropping exports and logistics problems due to the sanctions, should redirect supplies to the Russian Arctic regions, where wood is of high demand in house construction, expert of the Sustainable Development of the Arctic Zone scientific, technological, business and educational partnership, Tamara Mordasova, said on sidelines of the International Forum of Associations and Consortiums of Northern Territories.

"The Arctic regions are specifically interested in building houses of wood. Since trees do not grow there, Russian woodworkers should focus rather on that market. <...> The Arctic regions are open to cooperation, to have timber supplied to the Arctic," she said.

The Russian Ministry for Development of the Far East and Arctic has been working on a program to redirect the woodworking industry to the domestic market, she added.

Earlier, the Arkhangelsk Region said the local wood exporters faced problems with logistics to redirect shipments from western to eastern markets. The products become more expensive as producers have to ship wood across the country. Tomsk woodworkers have also reported export problems.

The International Forum of Associations and Consortiums of the Northern Territories is a key event over Russia's chairing the Arctic Council in 2021-2023. The Tomsk State University is the forum's organizer.

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental organization of the Arctic states. Its members are Russia, Denmark (together with Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Canada, Norway, the USA, Finland and Sweden. In 2021, the year of the organization's 25th anniversary, the two-year chairing role in it passed from Iceland to the Russian Federation. About 35 events are due in 2023.

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