Consumables

Stora Enso CEO Jouko Karvinen welcomes initiative to postpone Russian wood duty

Thursday 13. November 2008 - "We are very pleased with the Russian decision announced today to postpone the wood duty on Russian wood exports. That is an indication of the desire to avoid barriers to international trade that would hamper the economies on both sides of the border. This decision gives us more time to adjust our operations to the postponed wood duty," says Stora Enso CEO Jouko Karvinen.

Stora Enso will proceed with implementation of its efficiency improvement plans as announced in September. In addition, in line with its strategy, the Group has already considerably reduced the use of wood imported from Russia in its mills in Finland. The restructuring of Stora Enso’s Russian Wood Supply unit will continue as planned due to the need for productivity and profitability improvements. The reshaped unit will be able to deliver cost-competitive Russian wood to Stora Enso’s mills based on availability and customer needs.

The recent and current production curtailments at sawmills and for pulp and paper mills are market related and not driven by wood availability.