Released on: August 21, 2008, 5:17 am

Press Release Author: Hakan Ekstrom

Industry: Agriculture

Press Release Summary: As a result of the implemented and planned log export taxes
in Russia, shipments of softwood logs from Russia have declined both to Europe and
Asia in 2007 and 2008. In the first quarter of 2008, Russia shipped 44% less to
Europe and 15% less to Asia.

Press Release Body: Seattle, USA, August 21, 2008 -- Wood Resource Quarterly reports
that softwood sawlog prices increased in Russia during the 2Q, in contrast to the
sharp decline noted during the 1Q. Contrary to earlier price movements, this time it
was the domestic market rather than the export market that was the main price driver
as the housing market in western Russia strengthened substantially.

As a result of the implemented and planned log export taxes in Russia, shipments of
softwood logs from Russia have declined both to Europe and Asia in 2007 and 2008. In
the first quarter of 2008, Russia shipped 44% less to Europe and 15% less to Asia.
During the 1Q/08, Russia exported less to all of its major trading partners except
China, which increased purchases by 14%. Softwood log exports are, so far in 2008,
at the lowest level in four years. The major consumers of exported pine and spruce
logs from Northwest Russia are sawmills and to a lesser extent Sweden. In 2007,
Sweden and Finland alone imported 89% of Russia's total shipments to Europe. Other
importers included sawmills in Estonia and Latvia, which increasingly have become
dependent on Russia for sawlogs.

The declining exports of softwood logs have benefited the domestic industry in
Russia for two main reasons: increased availability and lower costs for sawlogs.
This was particularly true in the 1Q this year, when raw material costs declined
substantially in both Northwest Russia and Siberia. In the 2Q, sawlog prices
rebounded slightly as demand from domestic sawmills increased.

One key reason for the changing market conditions has been the ample supply of logs
thanks to favorable logging and hauling conditions during the winter months. In the
past, it was quite common that wood prices would fall early in the year due to good
weather conditions, but then increase in the spring when bad road conditions limited
the timber volumes that could be hauled out from the forests. Another reason for the
reduction in prices has been the unusually high domestic sawlog supply as the result
of declining log exports to Europe. In the 1Q/08, European countries imported 43%
less softwood roundwood from Russia than in the same quarter in 2007, while hardwood
log exports were up by over 50%.

Despite the recent fall in prices, log costs in Russia have still not come down to
the same level as a couple of years ago, according to WRQ. With the recent reduction
in log costs, Russian sawmills currently have some of the lowest wood costs in the
world. With the possibility of a plentiful supply of logs next year secondary to the
log tax increase, log costs within Russia are likely to stay down during 2009.

Global pulpwood and sawlog market updates are included in the 50-page publication
Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with readers in over 20
countries, tracks wood prices in most regions around the world and also includes
regular updates of international pulp, lumber and biomass markets.

Contact Information
Wood Resources International
Hakan Ekstrom
info@wri-ltd.com
www.woodprices.com
Press Release Submission By PressReleasePoint(http://www.pressreleasepoint.com)

Press Contact:
Hakan Ekstrom
Wood Resources International
P.O. Box 1891
Bothell,WA 98041 USA
425 402 8809
info@wri-ltd.com
http://www.woodprices.com

Web Site: http://www.woodprices.com

Contact Details: Wood Resources International
P.O. Box 1891
Bothell,WA 98041 USA
425 402 8809
info@wri-ltd.com