Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 23 September 2008 -- (MARKET WIRE) -- Cathay Forest Products Corp. (CDNX:CFZ.V - News) is pleased to announce that its Russian Joint Venture, DalEuroLes Co., L.L.C. has begun harvesting standing timber from its forest concessions in Khabarovsk, Russia.

To date, activities on the property have been focused on the construction of roads and on the acquisition and delivery of heavy machinery necessary for the harvesting operations. Construction of the roads was completed in August 2008. Construction of a lower landing area, where round logs and other wood products (such as wood chips and pellets) are stockpiled for delivery to markets, is scheduled to be completed in October 2008.

Cathay Forest plans to export the harvested Russian round logs and other wood products to China and Japan, starting in October 2008.

DalEuroLes plans to harvest up to 50,000 cubic meters of wood by the end of 2008. In 2009, DalEuroLes plans to harvest the full annual allowable cut of 300,000 cubic meters on its 271,000 hectare concession.

"The commencement of harvesting operations is an important milestone achieved by Cathay Forest," said Anthony Ng, Cathay Forest's President and CEO. "This marks the beginning of a newfound source of supply to meet the acute shortage of wood fiber in China and Japan. With the advantage of proximity to market and abundance of forest resources, Russia represents an ideal environment for Cathay to continue its exceptional growth."

In 2007, Cathay Forest purchased a 51% interest in DalEuroLes, which at the time owned a 271,000 hectare concession of standing timber in Khabarovsk. In July 2008, DalEuroLes obtained an additional forest concession of 720,000 hectares adjacent to the original property.

About Cathay Forest Products

Cathay Forest is a forest products company that manages approximately 1 million hectares of standing timber properties and fast-growth, high-yield poplar plantations in China and Russia. Cathay Forest is building a world-class forest products company through a customer base that includes the domestic Chinese pulp and paper industry and other wood products customers in the Japanese market.