Russian Timber, Kazakh Papers

[Christina Brause]

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In Central Asia, a remarkable economic fairy tale is unfolding. In 2008, the European Union imported just under 2.4 tonnes of birch plywood from Kazakhstan. For thirteen years, until 2021, no imports were reported at all. Just one year later, more than 21,000 tons of plywood crossed EU borders. By 2025, that figure had climbed to nearly 26,000 tons.