ST. PETERSBURG, October 25 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government will not raise export duties on round timber in 2010 and considers it possible to make a similar decision in 2011, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
"The moratorium on raising export duties on round timber will remain in effect for the next year. I believe it possible to make a similar decision for 2011. We'll proceed from the analysis of the real situation on world markets," Putin said at a timber summit in St. Petersburg shortly before a planned meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.
Putin said the decision to extend the moratorium was due to declining export demand for timber amid the financial crisis.
Putin said Russia started raising export duties back in 2007 over its unwillingness to play the role of a raw material supplier to global markets.
Russian authorities have repeatedly stated their intention to switch from the export of round timber to the development of timber processing inside the country, using foreign investment, including from Finland.
Putin said the moratorium gave foreign timber processing firms the possibility to expedite their projects in Russia but added that the moratorium would not stay in effect indefinitely.
Russia has approved 75 priority timber investment projects with total financing of about 430 billion rubles ($15 billion). Their implementation will help process 68 million cubic meters of timber annually, Putin said.
Russia, whose economy depends heavily on revenue from the sale of raw material commodities - mainly oil and gas - has been trying to diversify its economy and create competitive value-added and high-technology industries.
Russia, which has about a quarter of the world's forests and exports large amounts of raw timber to Northeast Asia and Europe, including Finland, is seeking to create modern timber processing facilities inside the country.
