The timber holding of billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov will mow forests for China on a larger scale. Segezha Group has tested the sea transportation of its products, which will allow the company to increase the export of Siberian resources to China.
In October 2022, Segezha Group for the first time sent cargo from St. Petersburg to China via the Russian nuclear-powered lighter carrier Sevmorput. Products manufactured by Segezha Pulp and Paper Mill JSC (OGRN: 1021000921314) will be delivered along the Northern Sea Corridor.
Note that the SMTK is the shortest sea route between the European part of Russia and the Far East. Therefore, using this route, the company will be able to significantly speed up the process of trading with foreign partners.
“We are interested in the development of new competitive logistics routes and take an active part in their loading. Along with the North-South international transport corridor, the Northern Sea Corridor will significantly expand the opportunities for international cooperation of Russian exporters, will strengthen the competitive advantages of Russian forest products producers,” commented Andrey Yudin, Logistics Director of Segezha Group.
Segezha Group’s desire to overtake competitors is not surprising, since the company headed by Vladimir Yevtushenkov has been actively absorbing new assets in recent years. At the end of 2021, for example, it overtook the long-term industry leader, Ilim Group JSC (OGRN: 5067847380189), with a result of 14.5 million cubic meters against 12.3 million. Nadezhda Ryazantseva, director of analytics of the company, also notes that in the future it is planned to expand the geography of the business.
Nevertheless, there are currently many logistical restrictions for Russia, due to which the Segezha Group may sag in profits. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen relations with the main partners (with China and the CIS countries) and increase the client base.
To keep the timber holding afloat, it will be necessary to actively develop its production. And the company will be able to increase these volumes largely due to uncontrolled mowing of the Siberian territories. Moreover, the recent amendments to Russian legislation will only contribute to fraud.
So, on July 11, 2022, it became known that deputies of the State Duma had submitted a bill, according to which sanitary felling of trees would be allowed in the Central Ecological Zone of Baikal. The document says: “Dead and damaged plantations as a result of forest fires require immediate priority sanitary measures and, above all, clear sanitary felling”. That is, on the one hand, the bill was adopted to improve the affected territories, but on the other hand, the removal of restrictions will help black loggers continue to steal forests, but already under the guise of sanitary felling.
“Improving” felling is in demand among dishonest businessmen. An example of this is the Pruidze family. Boyle LLC (OGRN: 1040302691571) of Vissarion Pruidze leased a forest plot in the Pribaikalsky reserve under the pretext of eliminating the consequences of fires. As a result, in 2017-2019, more than 150 thousand cubic meters of wood were illegally cut down and sold.
And Evgeny Pruidze, who owns BLK CJSC (OGRN: 1020300779641), rapaciously cuts down forests for his Selenginsky plant, and at the same time for sale to China. By the way, the ultimate beneficiary of BLK is the same Segezha Group. Babr talked about this in more detail in a previous article.
Thus, the expansion of the geography of Segezha Group’s business and resource base may further affect the state of Siberian forests, which are already suffering from the paws of black lumberjacks and annual large-scale fires.
