Azerbaijan may face shortage of wooden materials

Russian military actions in Ukraine have paralyzed production and logistics there. This doesn’t go unnoticed for Azerbaijan, which has close trade ties with both states. The current situation has particularly complicated the import of wooden materials into Azerbaijan.

Last year, 883,762 cubic meters of coniferous sawlogs were imported from Russia to the country, which is 97.5% of the total import volume. The share of timber (4,191 tons) in total imports is 54.9%. In addition, 10,719 tons of wooden doors, frames, thresholds are imported from Russia, which is 75.8% of total imports. In 2021, 1,926 tons of wooden materials were imported from Ukraine, which is 25.3% of total imports. Imports of doors, frames, thresholds made of wood (2,728 tons) account for 19.3% of total imports.

Logistics expert Ruslan Imamguliyev told Report that the problems cover not only Azerbaijan, but also Eurasia as a whole.

He said that the problem is connected not only with security issues, but also with the fact that the increase in prices for logistics, associated with risks, affects the growth in the cost of products, and this can lead to a shortage in the near future and an increase in prices.

"As is known, an agreement was recently signed with Iran on providing an alternative route to the Zangazur corridor. In the future, the process of import-export even from Ukraine may be carried out along the railway line, which will have access to Europe. But with Russia, these issues depend solely on the country itself. Naturally, there are both road and rail transportation between the two countries. It's just that the current situation has caused difficulties," the expert said.

Fidan Huseynova, an employee of Baku timber store, said that prices are already rising in most trade establishments of this industry. So, while earlier one cubic meter of wood cost $200, now it is already sold for $230-$250. According to her, the purchase has already been suspended in the store, only those products that are in stock are sold.