Russia's timber harvesting volumes fell by 10% in 2025 – intelligence

In 2025, Russia's total commercial timber harvesting volumes fell by 10% compared with 2024, dropping to 176 million cubic meters.

This is the worst result since the start of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine and 30% less than a decade ago, Ukrinform reports, citing Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.

The agency noted that the crisis in Russia's forestry industry is systemic. International sanctions have dealt a painful blow to the sector, significantly reducing demand for timber and forcing suppliers to change logistics chains. This has led to higher timber costs and made harvesting unprofitable.

"Another devastating factor for Russia's logging industry has been the wear and tear of logging equipment. According to experts' estimates, by 2028, 90% of imported harvesters and forwarders will cease operating," the statement said.

According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian machine-building companies cannot offer a replacement for imported equipment. They are assembling only individual units of such machinery, while the industry will need between 3,500 and 10,000 units over the next two to three years.

The intelligence service also noted that, in search of funds to finance the war against Ukraine, the Kremlin plans to raise lease rates for forest plots by 40-50% in 2026, which further worsens the outlook for Russia's forestry sector workers.

The agency forecasts that the crisis in the logging industry will deepen in the near future and spread to related sectors, including the pulp and paper industry and wood processing.

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