“Stock trading has proven to be the most effective option for selling wood, but the procedure needs improvement.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Scarcity of wood Since 2018, there has been a significant drop in the volume of wood harvesting in Ukraine after the stable growth of harvesting during 2015-2018. This leads to an uncontrollable increase in prices, which makes processors uncompetitive on the European Union markets, because such a level of price increase is unprecedented.
The shortage of wood leads to the stoppage of production processes and the loading of enterprises at half of the maximum possible capacity.
Maintaining the current level of starting prices for wood in the fourth quarter of 2025 will negatively affect the financial condition of enterprises and will not allow a return to economically acceptable prices for raw materials during the bidding process.
Wood processing enterprises need raw materials to fulfill international and domestic contracts. The government needs to increase the procurement rate to at least 15 million cubic meters. m to reach an acceptable level for processors. Taking into account the high potential of the woodworking industry, the increase in harvesting volumes will allow us to load available capacities and invest in our own production.
State regulation In July, as a result of the reorganization, the government abolished the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Ministry of Environment and assigned their functions to the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture. State forestry policy is implemented by the State Forestry Agency. The largest forest user – State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” belongs to its sphere of management.
This monopoly body is responsible for the management of the forest fund and the volume of wood harvesting. It manages 6.6 million hectares of state forest fund lands. The smaller the harvested volume of wood put up for sale, the higher its value and, accordingly, the higher the earnings of the state enterprise.
Reorganization and the lack of proper state policy, in particular regarding increasing the volumes of wood harvesting, have a negative impact on business and the state. Consolidation of powers in the united ministry allows for the formation of appropriate state policy taking into account the strategic interests of the state and society.
Wood stock trading Business reports on cases of speculation by buyers at stock market auctions. In the second and third quarters of 2025, the largest price increase occurred, while a significant share of lot winners refused to collect the purchased raw materials.
In order to prevent such speculations, transparency in the purchase and sale of the resource on exchanges is necessary. It is worth excluding unscrupulous buyers (those who take less than 60% of the purchased volume) from the bidding system for at least two quarters, or introduce fines for unselected volume and consider the mechanism of closing guarantee payments after the fulfillment of 60% of contracts for wood volumes.
Business pays attention to numerous cases of non-fulfillment of contractual obligations by suppliers, while proving their guilt is extremely difficult. Each such fact must be considered by an authorized body to clarify all the circumstances, because as a result of shortages, companies lose customers. In such cases, a sanction mechanism for suppliers should be provided for.
It is necessary to introduce publicity during stock trading. Making timber sales agreements and participant information public will prevent abuse. Wood processing enterprises cannot identify their participants during bidding, because of this, buyers suspect participants of manipulations to increase the price.
Although stock trading has proven to be the most effective option for the sale of wood, the procedure needs to be improved with the participation of woodworking enterprises that best understand the issues of trading.
Moratorium on the export of wood Extending the moratorium on wood exports will protect woodworking enterprises and help increase investment in manufacturing, create jobs, develop the labor market, and increase tax revenues.
Extending the moratorium on the export of coniferous fuelwood (code UKTZED 4401 11) will increase the competitiveness of processors compared to other countries. Given the global trends in protecting domestic business, extending the moratorium is an important task.
The business is waiting for the extension of the moratorium, which expires in the fall of 2025. This will stimulate domestic processing, contribute to price stability, environmental safety and protection of the country’s strategic resource.
Regulations for importers The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) enters into force on 1 January 2026. It provides that products imported into the EU should not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation. Importers are obliged to check the origin of products before importing them. Non-compliance can lead to legal and financial consequences. The new rules affect Ukrainian exporters.
Currently, there are no normative acts implementing the provisions of the EURD into national legislation. Considering the export orientation of the woodworking industry, the business emphasizes the importance of urgently developing effective solutions for a smooth export-import regime.
The woodworking industry has significant potential, but for its realization, a number of tasks must be solved, in particular, ensuring sufficient volumes of wood harvesting. A comprehensive approach and the involvement of business in solving industry problems will contribute to the development of the sector, increasing its competitiveness on international markets and economic growth of the country.
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