The decline in export volumes due to EU sanctions against the backdrop of rising transportation tariffs and a stronger ruble made the production of lumber unprofitable in the Russian North-West. In April 2022, the volume of lumber imports to China fell by 20.1% y-o-y, to 2.2 million m3. Including supplies from Russia decreased by 11% to 1.04 million m3. The decline in lumber imports was due to lockdowns in ports in China due to quarantine, as well as a downturn in the country’s construction industry. …The Russian domestic market will not be able to absorb the volumes released from exports. …“There is nowhere to send the lumber,” says Valery Pisarev. … Exports of lumber to Europe, the main market for sawmills in the Northwest of Russia, will end on July 9, when the grace period for deliveries under contracts concluded.