What are the implications of Ukraine conflict o EU forest products trade?

Abstract

After the changes in globally traded forest products patterns and supply chains caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, currently, there is another geopolitical event that has a direct impact on a whole spectrum of markets, not least the timber market. The current situation in Ukraine resulted in many sanctions imposed by the global community and regional groups on Russia, some of them directly targeting the trade with forest products. EU is a significant global player on forest products market. In 2020 it contributed to 42% of the world total export and 32% of the world total import of forest products. As the EU member states to a large extent depends on international trade there is a need to examine what may be the implications of such sanctions on the EU wood trade patterns and consequently on the supplies for forest based industries. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to quantify the EU's dependence on timber from Russia and to indicate the possible impacts on international timber trade.