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A full-cycle timber processing project is launched in the Kaluga Region to make particleboards and laminated particleboards. In the Leningrad Region, production of decorative laminated paper plastic has been established. In the Moscow Region, a new liquid food packaging production floor is about to become operational.

The situation in the timber industry and additional measures to support the industry are the main topic of the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, the participants are reviewing a number of current issues.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today, we will review the development of the timber industry, but before that we will look into a number of pressing current issues.

Mr Savelyev, the holiday season is approaching. How is the situation on the Black Sea in terms of providing relief to the tanker wreck?

Please.

Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev: Mr President, colleagues,

The Government Commission is continuing to provide relief to the emergency caused by the tanker crash in the Kerch Strait.

In March, the stern of the Volgoneft-239 tanker was fully dismantled and disposed of. In all, about 1,500 tonnes of water-fuel oil mixture were pumped out during the relief effort. More than 830 tonnes of metal structures were cut and removed.

The commission has decided on the procedure for disposing of fuel oil from the sunken parts of the tankers, namely, the bow part of Volgoneft-239, and the bow and stern parts of Volgoneft-212. When choosing between the options, we were guided primarily by environmental safety considerations in the emergency area.

The commission decided to install special engineering structures – cofferdams – over the sunken tanker parts, which will make it possible to isolate the fuel oil in the tankers and prevent it from spilling in the Black Sea. In the future, fuel oil will be pumped out from tankers through technological hatches in cofferdams, and the cofferdams will be disposed of just like the sunken ships.

The Ministry of Transport has organised preparatory work. The Government has decided to allocate 1.092 billion rubles for dismantling superstructures of the vessels that are under water and for drafting project documentation to manufacture and install cofferdams.

The Ministry of Transport plans to complete the installation of cofferdams by October 30.

The Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) has calculated the environmental damage caused by the wreck of tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 and filed claims to the owner companies. The total amount of claims filed to the companies that own the tankers amounted to almost 85 billion rubles. Further work will be carried out in accordance with applicable legislation.

In Crimea, Sevastopol, and the Krasnodar Territory – with the exception of Anapa and the Temryuksky District – the tourist season will open as usual. According to the tests of atmospheric air and fresh water from sources of drinking water supply, no deviations from the norms have been found. No deviations from the norms in fish and aquaculture products in the emergency zone have been identified, either.

(The Deputy Prime Minister said that samples were being regularly taken in the affected regions, including the worst affected beaches, after which the final decision will be made concerning the arrangements for package holiday-making this year. However, group accommodation facilities, such as health resorts, holiday homes, hotels, and spa complexes, will be used without restrictions. The Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) is in the process of putting together its findings concerning access to the beaches and sea.

According to Vitaly Savelyev, the Government has taken measures to support the individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities in the Krasnodar Territory which was affected by the spill. In addition, the Government decided to allocate 1.5 billion rubles from the federal budget in 2025 to reimburse the Krasnodar Region budget for the costs incurred in providing recovery efforts. In addition, almost 105 million rubles have been allocated to purchase at least 12 kilometres of oil-spill booms and at least 30 tonnes of biosorbent.)

Acting on your instructions, the Ministry of Transport, the classification societies – the maritime and river registers of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor) -and the involved federal executive authorities continue to inspect the condition of the tanker fleet and the shipping companies that operate tanker fleets.

Based on the findings of the inspection, proposals will be drafted to tighten control over the technical condition of such vessels and the implementation of such cargo transport. We will be ready to report to you separately on the first results of these actions in May.

Mr President, the commission is continuing its systematic work to provide relief to the emergency. On-site work is coordinated on a daily basis by the operational headquarters under the leadership of First Deputy Chairman of the Commission and Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov.

Thank you. That concludes my report.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Savelyev, one tanker has been fully dismantled, and the other one is, as far as I understand, lying at a depth of 20 metres. It is planned to put an entombment on top of it. However, I believe all these manipulations with the second tanker will not create additional difficulties later on when we start pumping out petroleum products and disposing of what will be left over on the sea bottom.

That is, the entombment and everything that is being done around this tanker should be part of the future effort to pump out petroleum products and to completely dispose of the tanker hull itself. Is that right?

Vitaly Savelyev: That is correct. We have finished dealing with the stern part, which was on land. We have cleaned up everything and there is practically nothing left on the surface. What is left is the bow of Tanker 239 and Tanker 212 that was broken in half – the bow and the stern. That is, we are dealing with three parts in all. There is pretty much – 3,919 tonnes – fuel oil there.

That is why, based on environmental safety considerations, we decided to use entombments, cofferdams – engineering facilities outfitted with special hatches that will allow us to pump out the fuel oil – and then we will dispose of the cofferdams and the remaining three parts. This will complete the recovery effort.

Importantly, the cofferdams will not be in the way of the sea traffic. We ran the numbers to make sure they will not. They will be secured to make sure no storm can damage them while we pump out fuel oil and dispose of the hulls.

Vladimir Putin: Good, okay. Thank you.

Mr Kurenkov, do you have an update on the flood situation? What about preparations for the fire hazard season? In some regions, wildfire response efforts are already underway.

Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Natural Disaster Relief Alexander Kurenkov: Mr President,

In most regions of our country, it did not snow much during the winter and it was much warmer than usual. Considering this, the spring flood started a little earlier than usual, but, overall, without major complications.

As of today, the rivers in all regions of the North Caucasus and Southern federal districts, as well as in most of European Russia, are completely free of ice. We are now focused on the southern regions of the Urals and Siberia, as well as the Volga Region, that are affected by strong floods.

Last week saw water levels rise in the basins of the Irtysh, Ob and Angara rivers, with local flooding hitting low-lying areas. At the same time, water levels on the Ishim River in the Tyumen Region continue to rise due to fast snow melting and reservoirs in the Republic of Kazakhstan getting full.

To prevent large-scale consequences of the floods we had last year, we have established close cooperation with our Kazakhstani colleagues. Regular exchange of information allows us to control the flow of flood waters and, in the event the situation gets worse, to timely take additional measures to stabilise it.

As of today, one residential house, 88 household plots and 33 transit infrastructure sites have been flooded around the country. These figures are much lower than last year, including thanks to proactive preventive measures.

These measures are carried out with account taken of the spring flood forecast and monitoring and analysis of the situation, including with the use of artificial intelligence. All these measures must ensure proper control over the spring flood and reduce possible negative consequences.

Mr President, with regard to the wildfire situation, the fire hazard season is now open in 69 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. According the Aerial Forest Protection Service (Avialesokhrana), more than 680 wildfires have been documented in the Russian Federation since the beginning of the year covering a total area of over 178 hectares, which is significantly more than last year.

The most challenging situation is in the republics of Daghestan and Buryatia, and the Primorye, Trans-Baikal, and Krasnodar territories, as well as the Astrakhan and Kaliningrad regions. (The Minister provided a detailed account of wildfires in the Trans-Baikal Territory, as well as of measures to protect population centres and public buildings against wildfires).

With the beginning of the dacha season and fast approaching May holidays, we have teamed up with local authorities to raise awareness with regard to compliance with fire safety standards.

Mr President, the forces and means of the Unified State System for Preventing Emergencies and Providing Relief are keeping the situation under special control.

Thank you. That concludes my report.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Kurenkov, from what you just said, it appears that the number of wildfires in at least eight regions is significantly higher than last year. It is crucial to respond in a timely manner in order to prevent devastating consequences and even more so any significant damage to the people. We need to be on top of the developments at all times.

(At the request of the President, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov provided his comments on the readiness for the wildfire season and cited statistical data whereby 547 wildfires have been documented in 35 regions of the country since the beginning of the year, and 23 regions have doused wildfires on time. The President emphasised that there were enough forces and means to fight wildfires, and it was important to use them in a timely and coordinated fashion in the most areas that are most prone to wildfires).

Vladimir Putin: Next up, we will look into a matter from a completely different area which is physical fitness and sport. In January 1, 2022, we instituted a tax deduction for adherence to physical exercise, compliance with National Health and Fitness Programme (GTO) targets, and medical checkups.

All organisations and sole proprietors must be included in the list maintained by the Ministry of Sport. We have very few organisations on that list at about four percent of the total number. (Addressing the Minister of Sports Mikhail Degtyarev.) Mr Degtyarev, how is the work going?

(The Minister spoke in detail about the legislative framework underlying tax deductions for being physically active and made proposals on measures that are needed to expand the list of organisations providing physical training and recreational services for which citizens can obtain a social tax deduction. According to Degtyarev, starting from 2022, people have been able to receive more than 1.9 billion rubles, of which 1.2 billion last year

Speaking of physical fitness, the Minister said that last year 2.7 million people obtained GTO merit badges. A total of 23 million people are registered with the GTO system, and 11 million obtained the badges.

In turn, the President reiterated the need to continue improving the legal framework and said that he supported the Minister’s proposals in general. The President also asked Mikhail Degtyarev, both as Minister and as Chairman of the National Olympic Committee, to continue supporting various sports federations, stressing that sports federations have a clearly social nature and are not private business organisations. The President said that work must be organised in such a way as to reduce the burden on Russian families and individuals who strive to have themselves and their children engage in physical fitness and sport

At the President's request, Head of the Russian Popular Front Executive Committee Mikhail Kuznetsov provided comments and offered his proposals on the topic under discussion.

In closing, the President asked the Minister of Sport to take into account everything that had been said during the meeting and what the head of the Russian Popular Front had to say and to adjust the Ministry’s work accordingly).

Vladimir Putin: Let us move on to the main item of the discussion. Before we do that, though, and before we begin discussing the current state and prospects for the timber complex and the forest industry, let us review the state of affairs in a number of regions.

Today, we are about to launch new production facilities at three domestic timber industry companies at once. The Kaluga Region has launched the production of particleboards, which is a full-cycle timber processing project. In the Leningrad Region, we are launching the production of laminated paper. In the Moscow Region, a food packaging production facility is about to become operational.

First of all, I would like to congratulate the labour teams of these enterprises and everyone who was involved in implementing these projects on the good event that is meaningful for the companies, the regions, and practically the entire industry. We are planning to hold a video conference with our colleagues in the field. I expect them to update us on the specifics of their production facilities and to share their plans.

Notably, the Russian timber industry has good prospects and great reserves. I would like to emphasise great reserves and the potential for strong growth. Russia accounts for one fifth of the world’s timber reserves, and we will definitely develop the full technological chain in order to use our forest wealth effectively.

Our priority tasks include strengthening the technological base of timber processing, including the production of equipment and machinery. As a matter of fact, some projects have used exclusively Russian technologies and Russian-made equipment. We will help our producers to build logistic flows and access new markets.

In addition, it is important to constantly improve the efficiency of support for deep timber processing, so that we can have more modern companies with well-paid jobs in our country, and Russian companies were in a position to meet the domestic demand and to offer products with high added value, such as furniture, paper, wood chemistry products, and, of course, to further develop such a promising and sought-after area as the production of building kits for the construction of environmentally friendly and comfortable wooden houses.

I look forward to our colleagues from the commercial sphere telling us how effective and accessible the existing business support measures are.

Once again, I congratulate the participants of our event on the opening of new production facilities and wish you all the best.

Let us begin. Please go ahead.

Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov:Mr President,

As you mentioned, today we are launching three new enterprises. I would like to highlight that all of them are operating in the high-value segments of this industry.

The Ultradekor Group specialises in producing materials for the furniture industry, which has been growing steadily in recent years. The company was the first in Russia to master the production of laminate flooring, MDF and OSB. Over the past two decades, it has built seven plants, with a total of 25 production sites. Among them is a new plant – the largest in Russia in the chipboard segment – with an annual capacity of 900,000 cubic metres. It begins operations today in the Kaluga Region.

The Slotex company, based in St Petersburg, also produces high-demand materials for the furniture sector. In 2023, it took over the laminated chipboard production at the former IKEA factory in the Novgorod Region and has since launched a number of investment projects there. Now, in response to rising demand, the company is opening a new facility in the Leningrad Region to manufacture innovative paper-based laminate plastics for wood-based panels, as you have already noted.

The third project we are launching today is of particular importance to the food industry. As you know, Mr President, in 2022, major European suppliers of long-life packaging halted imports and exited the Russian market. At that time, MoloPak, a domestic producer of cardboard packaging, made the decision to build a new plant to fill that gap.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, together with the Moscow Region Government, supported the project through loans from the Industrial Development Fund and by providing land for construction on a preferential lease. The new facility is now beginning production of aseptic packaging, offering a domestic alternative to imported products. What is more – our colleagues will speak about this in more detail – the company has already decided to build a third phase of the plant. This will allow us to fully meet the country’s demand for this type of packaging.

I would like to thank the company’s leadership for their prompt and effective work in replacing imports. Our colleagues are on site and will share more about their achievements and future plans.

Thank you.

<…>

Vladimir Putin: I would like to thank the heads of the companies we have just spoken with for everything they have accomplished, and I hope there will be even greater achievements to come. What we have seen and heard today certainly gives reason for optimism. The launch of these facilities marks an important development not only for Russia’s forest industry, but for our economy as a whole.

Let’s now move on to the main topic of today’s meeting. We will review the current state of the forest industry as a whole and everything related to it.

(Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov reported on the main item on the agenda. Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region Alexander Tsybulsky talked about the development of the forest industry in the country’s northwest. Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Governor of the Primorye Territory Oleg Kozhemyako also took part in the discussion).

Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, we have quite a few participants, and this is, of course, a very important topic. The forest industry has special importance for Russia. I am referring to our reserves, opportunities and prospects for this sector.

With that in mind, what would be my proposal? It goes without saying that we will set forth in our instructions everything we discussed today, including all the proposals we heard during this meeting.

I ask Maxim Oreshkin to take this under his control by working with the relevant agencies and our colleagues who took part in today’s meeting. I ask everyone to submit these proposals to the Executive Office. I assume that we have not been able to cover all the matters you wanted to raise.

Once the relevant agencies examine these proposals, I ask the Government to put them on paper and to finetune our efforts based on a clear vision of how this sector will develop until 2035, as we have already said.

Thank you very much. All the best!

Thank you for this collaborative effort.