The European commissioner for enterprise and industry was quoted by newspaper the Moscow Times as saying that “the situation when some European countries import Russian timber, refine it at the border and then sell back by a significantly more expensive price is not acceptable”. In April, Russia raised the minimum export duty on roundwood to 15 euros a cubic metre from four euros and has plans to raise it further to 50 euros a year, a move that would effectively halt roundwood exports. Mr Verheugen’s spokesman later told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that the commissioner’s comments, made during his recent visit to Russia, had been taken out of context, Newsroom Finland reports
