OREANDA-NEWS. The creation of the Russian-Chinese forest exchange is necessary to control the export of wood to the PRC. This was announced on Wednesday in Krasnoyarsk by the Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kobylkin at a meeting with the Prosecutor General of Russia Yuri Chaika. "China is the main consumer of Russian wood. We consider it expedient to create a Russian-Chinese exchange, which should become the only instrument of trade with buyers from China", Kobylkin said.

He added that in order to combat illegal logging, it is necessary to introduce exchange trading mechanisms. Moreover, such mechanisms should be introduced not only during export operations, but also for domestic timber trade. According to Kobylkin, the timing of the creation of the Russian-Chinese forest exchange is still unknown. "Now negotiations are underway with the Chinese side. There is an understanding on the part of China that it is time to finish and go on a completely transparent story with black lumberjacks. Both the ministries and the Communist Party of China support us", he told reporters following the meeting.

Kobylkin said that in the territory of five regions of the Russian Federation they will create joint Russian-Chinese forest breeding seed centers. He also noted that one of the problems in the Russian forest industry is the low reproduction of forests.

The meeting under the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation "On the state of legality and practice of prosecutorial supervision over the implementation of legislation in the field of forest use" is being held on Wednesday in Krasnoyarsk. Among the topics discussed are issues of illegal logging, violations during the conclusion of lease and sale of forest plots, control of legality in the implementation of priority investment projects.