In 2009, the timber transport volume of the Amur River in the Russian far East decreased sharply compared with the same period last year.

The amount of timber transported in the Khabarovsk border region of the Russian far East, which is rich in forest resources, dropped sharply compared with 2008 during the Amur (Heilongjiang) navigation season in 2009.

According to the website of the Khabarovsk border region government, the volume of timber transported through the Amur River was 666900 cubic meters in 2009, only 70.7 per cent of that in 2008. The reason is that the timber reserves of the river terminals in the preparatory period for navigation this year are only 80% of those in 2008, or 400000 cubic meters. The opening time of the Amur River began in early May, but it was not until May 29 that the first ships entered the port to load the goods.

The total volume of timber exported by river from August to October 2009 was 337000 cubic meters, compared with 586000 cubic meters in the same period in 2008.

The Khabarovsk border region will take measures to increase the volume of timber transport in 2010 to the 2008 level, that is, 1 million cubic metres. To this end, the relevant departments asked the relevant river transport enterprises to introduce 40 Chinese cargo ships for timber transportation as soon as possible. It is recommended that timber production enterprises store no less than 450000 cubic meters of timber at the port before the arrival of the navigation period and sign a transport agreement with the shipping company.