December 05, 2024 in Shangri-La Bosphorus Hotel in Istanbul (Turkey), opened the VIII International Conference “Pulp and Paper Industry in Russia - New Realities, New Opportunities”. During two days the participants considered topical problems and prospects of the industry development.

Key goal

The conference is aimed at creating an effective dialog between business, investors and government officials. Discussions focused on adapting to new realities,
developing cooperation with international markets, including BRICS, ASEAN, Middle East and EAEU countries, as well as finding solutions to strengthen the industry under external pressure.

Participants and speeches

The event brought together more than 40 leading speakers, including representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, governors, specialists from major companies and financial institutions. Foreign experts and media representatives were also among the guests.

Miron Tatsyun, President of the Union of Timber Producers and Timber Exporters of Russia, emphasized the importance of international participation, including representatives of companies from Canada, Germany, Italy, India, China and South Korea.  He emphasized that this confirms the need for global cooperation to overcome current challenges.

Dmitry Kurochkin, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, emphasized the importance of the conference as a key platform for industry interaction. He expressed his gratitude to the organizers and emphasized the role of CCI in addressing the sector's challenges.

Oleg Bocharov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, emphasized the positive dynamics of product exports in 2024. He noted that subsidies and strategic initiatives contribute to the consolidation of market participants and stimulate the development of enterprises even in difficult economic conditions.

Sponsors' support

The event is supported by leading industry players:

General Sponsor: Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill

Gold sponsors: Solikamskbumprom, Hayat Holding, SFT Group, Syktyvkar Pulp and Paper Mill, Ilim Group.

Silver sponsors: Inner Mongolia YunChou Technology and A-Technology.

Strategic importance

The conference remains an important platform for discussing strategies to develop and strengthen the industry, bringing together the efforts of government agencies and businesses. The participants expect to work out specific solutions aimed at improving export dynamics, optimizing logistics and stimulating technological growth.

On December 06, the final day of the VIII International Conference “Russian Pulp and Paper Industry - New Realities, New Opportunities”, which was held at the Shangri-La Bosphorus Hotel in Istanbul, the participants focused on environmental sustainability, long-term industry development strategies in the context of climate change and implementation of ESG principles.

One of the key panel discussions of the second day was a session with:

• Brian McClay, Chairman of TTOBMA
• Alexander Panfilov, Deputy Head of the Federal Forestry Agency
• Ivan Sovetnikov, Head of the Federal Forestry Agency
• Nikolay Krotov, Chairman of the Committee on Entrepreneurship in the Forestry Sector of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation
• Anatoly Safronov, Managing Director of SFT Group SVI MSC SFT
• Natalia Pinyagina, Professor at Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

In his report Ivan Sovetnikov, discussing climate risks and adaptation measures in forestry, noted that under the influence of climate change the forest cover of the Moscow region may change towards more southern species. He listed the regions that will face serious environmental challenges in the coming years and urged the pulp and paper industry to take these risks into account when developing adaptation programs.

Nikolay Krotov emphasized the need to actively use forests, eliminate bottlenecks in the regulatory framework and the need for Russian certification, which could replace the bygone FSC. He noted the importance of dialog with governmental bodies to improve legal norms.

Natalia Pinyagina drew attention to the problems of implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanism. In her opinion, the EPR, which was conceived as an incentive to increase pulp and paper mill revenues by replacing plastic packaging and switching to cyclical solutions, has not yet demonstrated successful examples of implementation due to the unregulated status of waste paper and legislative gaps.

Brian McClay talked about classic ESG principles, and Alexander Panfilov, opening and summarizing the session, noted that all participants remain committed to environmental principles, calling for dialogue and joint actions in the interests of the industry.

The final panel discussion of the second day, “Export Potential of Russian Pulp and Paper Products”, was attended by representatives of foreign markets, where the prospects of product segments and analysis of the sales market situation were voiced

So from the report, Ricky Wang, an analyst from SCI, that pulp imports from Russia has recovered rapidly, reaching a record high of 1.9 million tons in 2023., this year's imports will decline slightly, but Russia is still the 4th largest supplier of bleached softwood pulp, and the largest supplier of unbleached softwood pulp UKP to China. Investment in pulp production in China is centered on bleached softwood pulp and fluting, and the launch of integrated paper lines is boosting demand for imported bleached pulp. 

Stimulating investment in domestic packaging paper production capacity in packaging paper production, especially ivory paperboard, creating demand for bleached and unbleached softwood pulp.

Participants in this panel discussion included:

• Ricky Wang, Dedicated pulp & paper analyst at SCI, China
  Topic: “2025 Outlook for Pulp and Paper Imports in the PRC”.
• Cica Stojanovic is Managing Director of NORECOM FOREST PRODUCTS GmbH
• Ismet Mustecaplioglu is President of REIS Pazarlama ve Ticaret
  Report topic: “Sales of products from the Russian Federation to the forest products markets of Turkey”
• Byoung Lyoul Jeong, Global Supply Chain Manager, Tara Paper Distribution, South Korea
• Ng Chi Leung “Danny”, Executive Director, Shenzhen Yixin Paper Co Ltd, China. The topic of the presentation is “Outlook and Strategy for Paper Packaging in the PRC and South East Asia”
• Chirag Jain, MLM India Ltd Topic: “A look at the Africa and Central Asia markets”.

The moderator was Dr. Veronica Shey is coo of StepChange Consulting.

In the final day of the conference defined the vector for an integrated approach to environmental and climate sustainability of the pulp and paper industry, development of the regulatory framework, increasing the cyclic nature of materials and strengthening cooperation between the government, business and expert community.

Thank you to all participants of the conference! See you in 2025!