Russian birch plywood: new suppliers after EU ban. 

Since July 2022, the import of Russian and Belarusian plywood has been banned.  

Some big wholesalers decided to invest not only their own funds but also attract bank assets to purchase huge amounts of plywood in advance.  

They were almost certain that a low volume of plywood would tend to lead to huge consumption. 

Frankly speaking, they have all the circumstances for this.   On the other side, this theory was also supported by local producers. Many of them have tried to buy as much plywood for their stocks as they could. 

Route #1 - Birch plywood from Turkey

Many Russian mills start searching for a "partnership" with Turkish plywood producers. The main idea was to deliver plywood to the mill in Turkey, repackage it, and send it as a Turkish product to the EU.   

Weak point of this pattern were: 

1) FSC certificate. Of course, most producers in Turkey have FSC and CARB2, but they were not happy to share their certificates. Everyone is afraid that volumes will increase, and next year, during FSC control, producers will face big problems. The main question from them will be how to prove FSC for initial materials. 

2) Commission for Turkish partners. I believe the main reason this business channel "dried up" so quickly was that Turkish demanded a 50% margin on the invoice price.  

Route #2 - Birch plywood from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Russian and Belarusian producers quickly realized that working through Turkey was not an option.The main issues were high delivery costs and commissions to Turkish companies.   

If you check the increase in wood, plywood, and pellets from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, you will be shocked.   

Countries which are covered with forests only for 5% increased sales of wood product in the EU for about 14 times from August. 

A quick guide to purchasing birch plywood.

If you want to be sure about the birch plywood that you plant to buy and sell further, please find below a quick guide.

• No prepayment. Almost every company that will sell you plywood in sizes 5x5 or 1525x1525 from Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan will demand 100% prepayment. The reason is obvious. They will invest your prepayment, and if everything goes smoothly, you will get products for your stock. If they encounter any difficulties, they will immediately transfer all problems to you.
• Buy only products on DDP, and try to avoid DAP conditions. If your supplier declares that the product is 100% not from Russia or Belarus, there will be no problem for them to pass customs clearance and include it in the price.
• Ask for FSC and CARB2 certificates. Be aware that if your supplier can't provide you with FSC, that means the plywood is for sure from Russia or Belarus. As for CARB2, there are still plenty of mills in Russia that have that certificate, which will expire for some of them in 2023.