Russia’s Forest Products Trade from the Perspective of Forest Certification

Abstract Forest certification emerged in the early 1990s and has since achieved notable global development. As one of the world’s most resource-rich countries in terms of forest coverage, Russia actively promoted the two major international forest certification systems – the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) – prior to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Forest certification brought multiple positive impacts on Russia’s forest products trade, including reducing green trade barriers, enhancing access to environmentally sensitive markets, combating illegal logging, and promoting sustainable forest management. However, following the onset of the conflict, international forest certification systems withdrew from the Russian market, resulting in a series of negative impacts on the trade in forest products, such as increased operational costs for enterprises, heightened compliance and reputational risks, and reduced export markets. From the perspective of forest certification, the trade in Russia’s forest products is now facing significant challenges. In response, Russia has accelerated the establishment of its own national forest certification system to ensure its forest products meet sustainable management standards, enhance brand reputation, and improve market competitiveness. At the same time, Russian forestry enterprises have actively expanded into emerging markets such as China, India, and Türkiye, strengthened compliance supervision of forest product exports, and sought to rebuild international trust. These measures are expected to help alleviate bottlenecks in the development of trade in Russia’s forest products and enhance its competitiveness in the international market.