In 2022, Russia increased its supply of sawn timber to Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries by 17.84%. The export volume reached 1.2 million m³.

In total, Russian timber exporters supplied timber to 15 countries in the region. The most significant growth was observed in supplies to Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The largest export volumes were recorded for Iran (379 thousand m³) and the United Arab Emirates (334 thousand m³).

The redistribution of supplies is linked to the impact of sanctions imposed by EU countries.

“Due to changes in logistics routes for Russian sawn timber entering external markets, many companies had to quickly pivot to countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Looking at 2022, supply to countries in the Middle East region grew the most in the UAE. Compared to the results of 2021, the Emirates managed to increase imports by 83%. This is followed by Iraq, which increased sawn timber imports from Russia by 75% to 174 thousand m³, and Jordan by 45% to 173 thousand m³,” stated Pavel Chashchin, head of Roslesinforg, in a statement.

As for the total export of sawn timber from Russia to MENA countries, it reached 22.7 million m³ in 2022.