Russian tariffs hurting Finland
Finland starts to feel the consequences of the new Russian timber policy. Two Finnish pulp majors now close down several plants making more than 3000 workers unemployed, following the decreased access to Russian round timber imports.
Alone the Stora Enso company is closing unprofitable plants with a total production of 600,000 tons of paper and 170,000 tons of wood products. 1700 people are left without jobs.
The other main paper and pulp company, UPM-Kymmene is firing 1600 of its employees following plant closures, Russian newspaper Vedomosti reports.
Meanwhile, the two companies are now planning major new investments in Finland in order to boost access to domestic timber. According to a press release from the company, 135 million EUR will now be invested in Finnish forests.
Finnish pulp industry has over the last years become increasingly dependent of Russian round timber imports. The Russian decision to boost export tariffs caused crises in Finland. The Russian move is motivated with the need to strengthen processing in Russia.
