Nov 24, 2006. /Lesprom Network/. By 2010 export duty for unprocessed lumber will amount to Euro 24 per cubic meter, director of taxes and customs-tariff policy department of ministry of finance of Russia Michail Motorin said. He explained that practically these are prohibitive duties for unprocessed lumber export. He reminded that already from June 2006 rates of duty were raised from Euro 2.5 to Euro 4 per cubic meter. The duties will be raised to Euro 6 from July 2007. According to him, step-by-step increase of ad valorem and specific parts of rate of duty for unprocessed lumber will result to reorientation of Russian companies to processing of wood in the territory of Russia. Analyst of investment company Antanta-Kapital Anna Krylova noted, that increase of customs duties on unprocessed lumber was an expected event. As a result of this influx of foreign investments will begin. “High duties may “kill” the industry”, president of Primorye’s Association of Wood Industrialists and Exporters Michail Kroks considers. “If we held out after increase of rate of duties on hardwood timber, we won’t endure the same on softwood.” According to Kroks, time is now tough for Russian timber companies. “Price for export are week: timber value is calculated in dollars, and it’s falling, and the duties are calculated in Euro. As a result, profitability of timber industry is at the level of 10-15% and now the exporters are watching every penny. The time of superpfofits is over long ago”. According to Kroks, customs increase will lead companies to losses. Rise of duties on unprocessed timber is necessary, and it surely should promote flow of foreign investments in wood-processing. It’s quite another matter that it’s necessary to treat the question in a responsible manner, not to speak bluntly. It is difficult to consider as serious such suggestions as rise of duty to Euro 24 per cubic meter, as well as legislative prohibition on roundwood export. As roundwood always made up a considerable part in export structure, duties increase will result in decrease of revenues from export. “If along with increase of export duties on roundwood the import duties on equipment for wood-processing will be abolished, Russian forest industry enterprises will occupy with timber further processing, and Russia will receive high value-added product”, Lesprom Industry Consulting analyst Pavel Artemyev commented.