No pine nematodes found in timber imports from Russia
Timber imports from Russia to Finland fell due to an increase in customs duties on roundwood in 2007. The goods structure also changed: volumes of imported woodchips and sawdust have been exceeding those of roundwood since 2009. In phytosanitary inspections, statutory since 2005, no infestations by the pine wood nematode or other quarantine pests have been detected in timber imports from Russia. Packaging material and coniferous woodchips may pose a greater risk of pathogen infestation.
Based on phytosanitary certificate data gathered by the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, the project Wood harvesting and logistics in Russia examined the import of coniferous wood from Russia to Finland. It also investigated changes in such imports, and phytosanitary inspections carried out from 2005 to 2009.
The volume of wood imports from Russia to Finland increased up to the record year 2005, when imports totalled around 1.7 million cubic metres. Birch pulpwood has been the main imported assortment, although the share of coniferous roundwood began to increase after the devaluation of the Russian rouble in 1998.
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Roundwood coming from Russia to Finland. Photo: Metla/Antti Mutanen. |
Russian customs duties threaten the forest industry's timber imports
All timber imports carry the inherent risk of introducing dangerous plant pathogens to the importing country. Both the European Union and Finland have taken preventive regulatory action against the pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), which lives on coniferous wood. Since 2005, the import of coniferous wood from Russia to Finland is subject to a phytosanitary inspection certificate issued by the country of origin. In addition, one per cent of imported coniferous wood must be inspected.
At the drafting stage, phytosanitary certificates and the associated inspections were deemed a threat to forest industry activities, due to extra bureaucracy, increased costs and loss of time. These fears have since proven unfounded. A greater threat to forest industry wood imports arose from Russian customs duties. These have been imposed gradually on exported roundwood, resulting in lower roundwood imports.
Volumes of imported woodchips and sawdust surpassed the volume of roundwood in 2009
In addition to lower import volumes, the goods structure changed in 2005 – 2009, from unprocessed wood to refined products and by-products. In particular, import volumes of woodchips and sawdust have increased, surpassing roundwood as the dominant grade in 2009.
Lower import volumes have also resulted in a more limited number of players, especially in Russia, where small and medium-sized timber enterprises have fallen on hard times. In Finland, major forest industry companies have adapted their operations to reflect the changed market situation for final products. Wood procurement has been concentrated in areas close to the Finnish-Russian border. Coniferous wood is now mainly imported via international border crossings in South East Finland. This has entailed reductions in the operation of temporary border-crossing sites.
No pine wood nematodes found in raw wood consignments – packaging material and coniferous woodchip consignments may pose a greater infestation risk
In phytosanitary inspections carried out in 2005 – 2009, no pine wood nematodes, or other quarantine pests, were detected. Within the samples taken, the even distribution of nematodes of the Bursaphelenchus mucronatus species demonstrates that the sampling was successful; i.e. nematodes can indeed be detected in imported coniferous wood using the applied method.
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Fortunately, the pest has not been detected in wood consignments from Russia. The pine wood nematode is a minuscule, transparent nematode, less than 1 mm long when mature. Photo: Metla/Metinfo. |
There are several possible explanations for the absence of the pine wood nematode. An inspection rate of one per cent is rather modest with regard to the annual volume of wood imported to Finland; a single infestation may very well escape inspection. On the other hand, it is equally possible that wood consignments from Russia are genuinely free of the pine wood nematode.
Most coniferous wood imported to Finland originates from areas close to the Finnish border in Northwest Russia. These have similar micro fauna to Finland. This implies little risk of new invasive species, particularly the pine wood nematode, being introduced or spread by the timber trade from Northwest Russia.
Wooden packaging material and coniferous woodchips pose the greatest risk of spreading the pine wood nematode. Monitoring of packaging material is very limited, with no detailed information available on volumes imported to Finland. In recent years, the volume of coniferous woodchips imported from Russia has increased, partially superseding roundwood imports. For these reasons, more resources and attention should be devoted to the inspection of woodchip consignments and packaging material.
Further information
- Researcher Timo Tolonen, phone: +358 29 532 5283 , timo.tolonen @ metla.fi