Russian pulp and paper industry: In search of new points of growth

Abstract

Aim. To analyze the potential and directions of development of the Russian pulp and paper industry taking into account the historical retrospective and international comparisons.Tasks. To analyze the historical retrospective of the dynamics of pulp and paper production volumes in Russia taking into account the spatial distribution of the industry’s production capacities; to assess the potential for growth of domestic demand for the pulp and paper industry products on the basis of international comparisons.Methods. The research was carried out by means of system analysis of the industry development on the basis of statistical reconstructions and international comparisons.Results. The Russian pulp and paper industry for thirty years after the collapse of the USSR overcame the transformation crisis and returned to the peak production volumes, bringing the technological level and the nomenclature of products to the level of the leading countries. As a result of transformations, there was an excessive concentration of the sector’s production capacities in the European part of the country, which in modern conditions leads to difficulties in marketing export-oriented products. The gap in the levels of per capita consumption of certain types of paper and paperboard products in Russia compared to the leading forestry countries indicates the possibility of further growth of domestic demand for the sector’s products.Conclusions. The growth of pulp and paper industry production volumes can be associated with the growth of the domestic market, which will require the outstripping growth of the population’s income.