On November 30, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin spoke at the plenary session of the VII International Conference “Russian Pulp and Paper Industry: New Realities, New Opportunities,” which was organized by the Union of Timber Industry and Timber Exporters of Russia with the participation of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and took place in Istanbul.

In his welcoming speech, Sergei Katyrin emphasized the role of the Chamber in ensuring the sustainable development of the forestry and paper industries in the face of unprecedented pressure from unfriendly governments. At the same time, he noted that Western companies are ready to continue constructive cooperation with domestic companies operating in the production of pulp and paper products.

“Within the entire forest complex, the pulp and paper industry has demonstrated perhaps the greatest resilience. Core enterprises were able to adapt in difficult conditions and minimize the negative consequences of sanctions, problems with logistics and shortages of components and consumables, and find new solutions in the field of import substitution,” he noted.

As a successful example of import substitution, he cited a joint project of the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill and scientists from the Northern Federal University, which makes it possible to replace imported chemicals when bleaching paper.

Speaking about interaction on the external track, Sergei Katyrin said that regional business is actively developing the markets of China, India, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. At the same time, the geography of the business is expanding due to supplies to the countries of Africa and Latin America.

“In many ways, the issue of increasing the export of Russian timber industry products depends on the effective solution of transport and logistics issues, including the optimization of railway transportation, the development of the Northern Sea Route, port infrastructure, and container lines,” he pointed out.

The head of the Chamber held a meeting with the Vice President of the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkey, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Şekib Avdagic. The parties discussed issues of strengthening interregional partnership of business circles and agreed to intensify interaction.

Sergei Katyrin emphasized that Turkish entrepreneurs actively participate in congress and exhibition events in Russia, including at the site of Expocentre JSC.

By Nail Shakhvaliyev, Press Service of the Chamber, and Sergey Markelov, Department of External Relations