Author: News

Over the past 15 years, timber harvesting volumes in Transcarpathia have almost halved — from 1.4 million m³ to 750,000 m³.

This trend began long before the establishment of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” — over the past three years, timber harvesting has remained almost at the same level. The sharp decline occurred in 2017–2020!

Against the backdrop of rising demand for timber, wood processors are asking: why is this happening, who is to blame, and is it possible to increase harvesting?

Let us analyze the situation and outline only some of the factors that have influenced forestry in Transcarpathia.

1.Since 2010, the area of the natural reserve fund in the Transcarpathian region within the Carpathian branch of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” has increased from 48.1 thousand ha to 74.6 thousand ha. Only 46% of Transcarpathian forests are designated for commercial use. 13% are part of the natural reserve fund, 14.5% are for recreational purposes, and the rest are subject to restricted forest use.

2.In 2019–2020, 16.5 thousand ha of forest plots were designated as primeval, quasi-primeval, or natural forests. All types of logging are prohibited in these areas, and protective zones at least twice the height of the primeval forest stand were established.

3.In 2019, a law was adopted banning clear-cutting in mountain fir-beech forests of the Carpathian region located above 1,100 meters above sea level.

4.According to the Law of Ukraine “On Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA), adopted in 2017, to conduct clear sanitary or gradual logging on areas larger than 1 ha, it is necessary to obtain an environmental impact assessment conclusion. This process takes 3–6 months and costs on average UAH 350,000–450,000.

5.In 2020, Resolution No. 1224 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine amended the rules of final felling in the mountain forests of the Carpathians: narrow-strip felling may only be conducted in pure spruce stands.

As a result, today foresters operate in a completely different legal framework, and logging is significantly restricted.

Unfortunately, given current trends, the timber harvesting situation risks further deterioration!

The issue is that in most forestry enterprises of Transcarpathia, the validity of baseline forest inventory materials will expire in 2026–2027. Despite ongoing efforts by foresters, the approval of new materials constantly faces obstacles — each new change in legislation requires additional revisions and repeated approval procedures. The creation or modification of protected areas also forces Ukrderzhlisproekt to revise forest inventory materials again!

It is worth noting that starting in 2027, a ban on clear-cutting for final felling in the mountain forests of the Carpathian region will come into force, which will undoubtedly impact harvesting volumes.

The resource is objectively limited, but access to it for businesses today is maximally transparent and open. On average, over 10,000 lots are put up for the main quarterly timber auctions in Transcarpathia by SFE “Forests of Ukraine”. More than 90% of them are up to 20 m³, meaning that regardless of the size of the company, everyone has equal opportunities to compete for resources.

Buyers are guaranteed to receive the contracted volumes. In some Transcarpathian forestry enterprises, the rate of contract fulfillment for timber supply reaches 98–100%. Issues are being addressed in those forestries where contractors (due to mobilization of workers and other factors) cause a certain percentage of under-deliveries.

Is there potential to increase timber supply?

Yes, but the issue cannot be solved with populist statements. A stable regulatory framework is needed — clear rules for decades to come. Enormous investments are required for the development of forest road networks and modern environmentally friendly timber harvesting equipment. In other words, a large-scale systemic effort is necessary, based on constructive dialogue between the state, environmentalists, businesses, and foresters. SFE “Forests of Ukraine” is ready for such work.

The event was arranged to showcase how the company’s operations have changed over three years of reform.

Journalists witnessed the introduction of transparent control mechanisms at every stage of work, including:

The process of timber loading and its photo documentation carried out by employees of the Smila Timber Industrial Complex of the Chyhyrynske Forestry Management Unit, Branch «Tsentralnyi Forest Office».

The work of independent forest inventory teams and the use of modern electronic tools at a site of the Volodymyrivske Forestry Subunit, designated for selective sanitary felling.

Media representatives highlighted the openness and transparency of the processes and expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to see the real results. The first publications have already appeared, confirming that the reform is working and delivering tangible outcomes.

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Such initiatives are an important step toward establishing continuous dialogue between the forestry sector and society. Openness and transparent communication are the foundation of trust in our common cause.

At the branch “Forest Training Center,” the forum “Occupational Safety in the Forestry Sector” took place. The event brought together occupational safety engineers from the regional branches of SFE “Forests of Ukraine”, business trainers, psychologists, scientists, and military representatives.

Over the course of five days, 60 occupational safety engineers from the enterprise attended trainings, performed practical tasks, and exchanged experiences on the key challenges they face in their work.

✔️ Leadership

One of the most important skills for an occupational safety engineer is leadership. They must train staff in safe practices during logging operations, conduct briefings, and develop instructions. It is crucial not only to respond to risks but also to prevent them. Business trainers taught participants modern approaches to leadership, teamwork, and fostering initiative in the field of workplace safety. When an engineer does not simply “control” but actively engages employees in safety initiatives, a culture of safety is formed within the team, which reduces the number of injuries.

✔️ Risk Assessment in Production

Recently, alongside the traditional briefing procedure in forestry enterprises, risk assessment in the workplace has been introduced, as required by the international occupational health and safety standard ISO 45001. Such assessments are conducted by occupational safety engineers, who receive feedback from employees while modeling potential situations. Representatives of the Academy of Risk Management Systems helped the engineers enhance their skills in developing occupational risk maps by demonstrating best practices in their preparation.

✔️ Social Adaptation of Veterans

Currently, more than 530 demobilized soldiers are employed at SFE “Forests of Ukraine.” It is important to reintegrate them into peaceful life, adapt them to work processes, and establish effective communication. Leading psychologists provided practical training on communication with veterans and methods of effective interaction.

Upon completion of the forum, occupational safety engineers received certificates confirming their professional knowledge in occupational health and safety management systems in accordance with the international ISO 45001 standard.

Together with our enterprise, other public procuring entities have also joined the community, including SE “Professional Procurements”, SE “Medical Procurement of Ukraine”, Ukrposhta, Naftogaz, Ukrtransnafta, Naftogaz Teplo, SE “State Logistics Operator”, the CPO branch of SE “Ukrainian Special Systems”, and Ukrzaliznytsia.

The Community’s objectives are:

-exchanging information on markets, suppliers, and innovative solutions to improve the quality of procurement and prevent unfair competition;

-promoting the use of modern digital tools and process automation (including artificial intelligence) for preparation, implementation, and monitoring of procurement;

-sharing experiences in testing new approaches and procurement methodologies, particularly regarding the use of non-price criteria;

-jointly supporting legislative changes to improve the regulatory framework, harmonize it with EU practices, and remove barriers to effective procurement;

-fostering joint project searches with international organizations and participation in international training programs for procurement professionals;

-providing mutual support and exchanging experience in complex projects or innovative procurements, as well as in cases of detecting signs of unfair behavior by market participants — in line with current Ukrainian legislation;

-ensuring open communication with all procurers through publishing the results of pilot projects, analytical materials, practical recommendations, and examples of successful procurements.

The founders of the Public Procurement Community signed a Memorandum on improving the efficiency and transparency of procurement processes and developing a competitive environment.

“This year we have managed to significantly improve the procurement system of SFE ‘Forests of Ukraine,’ adding efficiency and transparency to many processes. The invitation of our team to join the Procurement Community is recognition of the progress we have achieved within the professional environment of leading state-owned companies and institutions”, said Mykhailo Staietskyi, Director of the Procurement Department of SFE “Forests of Ukraine”.

The total amount of assistance paid exceeds UAH 94 million.

The compensation is provided for by the Collective Agreement of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” and is granted to certain categories of people who live in houses with stove heating.

Those who received compensation for the purchase of firewood include:

✓ more than 8,500 – company pensioners.

✓ more than 1,700 – families of mobilized employees.

✓ more than 2,300 – other categories, including:

– families of fallen soldiers;

– employees with disabilities caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war;

– single mothers or fathers;

– former employees who sustained occupational injuries;

– employees with more than 5 years of service and an average salary of less than UAH 22,000.

So, what documents are required to receive compensation?

✔ application;

✔ certificate from the village or city council confirming the presence of stove heating in the house, or an inspection report by the employer’s and trade union’s commission;

✔ copies of documents confirming belonging to a specific preferential category;

✔ copy of passport;

✔ copy of the taxpayer identification number certificate;

✔ for mobilized employees – a copy of the order of release in connection with conscription for military service during general mobilization;

✔ for employees with more than 5 years of service and an average salary of less than UAH 22,000 – a certificate of work experience in the forestry sector and a certificate of average salary.

Original applications with the required set of documents should be submitted to the Motivation Department of the regional branch, and pensioners should apply to the Primary Trade Union Organization. Applications may be submitted in person or sent by mail.

The budget received an additional UAH 4.1 billion!!

Almost one third of the total amount (UAH 3 billion) was transferred by the enterprise during August.

Compared to 2024, contributions to the state budget increased more than twofold (+123%) to UAH 7.3 billion.

The main factor of growth – record dividends (part of net profit) in the amount of UAH 2.9 billion (for 8 months of 2024, dividends amounted to UAH 123 million).

Payment of income tax increased by 67% to UAH 1.1 billion. VAT increased by 33% to UAH 2.7 billion.

More than UAH 1.53 billion was transferred to local budgets.

In total, the enterprise remitted 44% of its revenues from the sale of unprocessed timber to the budget.

The record financial and economic indicators of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” are the result of the forestry reform, which this week marks 3 years.

Thanks to the centralization of management and new control instruments, schemes for supplying illegal timber to the market were gradually blocked, unprofitable forestry processing was closed, and today the entire volume of harvested products (with the exception of firewood for the population and the social sector) is sold by SFE “Forests of Ukraine” at market price through transparent competitive exchange auctions.

Thus, the state forestry sector has gained resources for full-scale reforestation, forest protection and conservation. The state, in turn, has received multibillion contributions to the budget!

Since the beginning of the year, the enterprise has already restored forests on an area of 17,000 hectares. This autumn, large-scale reforestation efforts will continue. The President’s program “Green Country” will be over-fulfilled this year in terms of planting one billion trees.

However, forest creation involves not only planting seedlings but also a huge range of additional work.

In particular, this includes supplementing forest plantations from previous years. This spring, such work was carried out on 11,600 hectares, and this autumn, approximately 2,000 hectares more will be added.

Another important area is forest maintenance, which includes agrotechnical measures such as removing grass and shrub vegetation that hinders the growth and development of trees. 90% of this work is performed mechanically, using special equipment that does not damage seedlings. As of today, maintenance of forest plantations and natural regeneration has been carried out on 77,000 hectares, and an additional 40,000 hectares are planned for autumn.

In total, the area of work this year – including reforestation, supplementation, and maintenance – exceeds 153,000 hectares!

This is an enormous amount of work, thanks to which future generations of Ukrainians will benefit from highly productive forests with high-quality commercial timber.

Debunking Myths and Speculations!

Recently, meetings with businesses were held in Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil regions. Some participants raised questions about the need to increase timber harvesting, as well as concerns about sales conditions that do not guarantee sufficient volumes at prices acceptable for wood processors.

We consider it appropriate to summarize the discussion and finally dispel the myths and speculations that, unfortunately, some have begun spreading in the media.

1.Why is harvesting allegedly decreasing?

It is not decreasing!

In the first 8 months of 2024, branch «Podilskyi Forest Office» (Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil regions) harvested 836,000 m³ of timber, while in the same period of 2025 – 845,000 m³. This year, an additional 9,000 m³ of timber has been placed on the market.

2.Is it true that harvesting before the reform was twice as high as now?

No, this is not true!

In 2022, state forestries in the Chernivtsi region harvested 476,000 m³, while in 2024 SE “Forests of Ukraine” branches in the same region harvested 488,000 m³.

Yes, harvesting may have decreased in areas affected by hostilities, mined territories, or zones used by defense forces. But in the rear regions, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” has not reduced harvesting!

3.How is harvested timber distributed?

76.5% is sold at auctions;

23% is supplied to households and the social sector (firewood) at social prices;

0.5% is supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As we can see, there are no hidden schemes. All volumes, except for social and military needs, are sold at competitive electronic auctions.

4.What happens to timber that buyers refused at the exchange?

In the first half of the year, buyers declined to accept about 28,000 m³ of contracted timber (less than 6% of the total volume offered). This timber was not written off, lost, or sold under direct contracts!

The entire “refused” volume was re-offered at additional auctions and sold at market prices under the same competitive conditions.

5.Can more timber be harvested to stabilize prices?

The amount of timber foresters are allowed to harvest is determined by forest management planning documents. These are prepared by specialized organizations, undergo a complex multi-year approval process, and are approved by the relevant ministry.

Currently, the trend is not toward increasing but reducing allowable cuts when updating forest management documents.

For example:

In Khmelnytskyi region, documents prepared in 2018 were followed by a 2019 ban on harvesting in the economic zones of national parks. This reduced annual harvesting by 90,000 m³.

In Chernivtsi region, the 2019 law restricting harvesting in Carpathian fir-beech forests reduced annual volumes by 80–90,000 m³.

In Ternopil region, during the EIA procedure, it was found that most of the forest fund is reserved as protected areas, meaning future allowable harvests may be substantially reduced.

As a result of new environmental restrictions, foresters in the Podilska branch in recent years have been harvesting about 90% of their allowable cutting area — the maximum currently possible. In the future, harvesting will likely be even more limited.

But the question of why this is happening should be addressed not to foresters, but to the state, which sets priorities and forms forestry policy.

To summarize:

✔ ️ Foresters have done everything possible not to reduce, but to increase harvesting.

✔ ️ All timber, except that allocated to the public and military, is sold through main and additional auctions. All volumes are purchased by winning bidders.

✔  In the future, harvesting may decrease — and we are honest about this. But solving the issue depends not on foresters, but on the state, which defines policy.

The enterprise initiates and supports scientific work that covers forest restoration, biodiversity protection, climate change adaptation, and the introduction of innovative technologies in forestry. However, the most important priority remains close-to-nature forestry.

The Scientific Support Division, together with the Forestry Department, other structural units of SFE “Forests of Ukraine,” and researchers from NULES and UNFU, has developed a strategy for close-to-nature forestry and an implementation plan.

As part of the plan, professional training has already begun. The first 200 foresters of the Carpathian branch completed a training program on close-to-nature forestry and successfully passed examinations. The educational program will continue in other regions as well.

In addition, by the end of the year, specialists from the NULES subdivision “Boyarka Forest Research Station” will develop projects for the establishment of demonstration sites in the forests of Polissia (Poliskyi, Stolychniy, and Pivnichnyi forest offices). The goal is to train foresters through practical examples to carry out transformation fellings while ensuring the best balance between the ecological and economic components of forestry.

The strategy also includes other aspects necessary for the implementation of close-to-nature forestry, in particular, road construction and the use of modern equipment for logging and timber skidding.

In the near future, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” plans to expand its fleet of multi-operational logging machines – a tender has been announced for the purchase of five harvesters, which will be used for thinning and selective fellings. Accordingly, the Scientific Support Division is initiating the development of research topics on the use of modern harvesting machinery in the processes of formative fellings, forest health improvement, and main-use logging.

This was the main topic of discussion last week during working groups on the reform of the forestry, woodworking, and furniture industries, held at the initiative of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development in Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions.

Among the issues discussed were rising raw material prices, labor shortages, and the need to increase the supply of timber on the market.

According to MP Ihor Marchuk, reforming the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is a key factor in ensuring stable timber supply for the economy:

“We need systemic changes in this area so that environmental initiatives do not hinder economic development…”, noted Ihor Marchuk.

“Together with lawmakers, business associations, and market participants, we reached a common position on the need to change the approach to the EIA procedure in the forestry sector. The excessive regulation of the current EIA restricts timber harvesting, leads to spoilage and losses of products that could meet the demand of the processing industry. These changes should have a positive impact on increasing the efficiency of the Ukrainian economy and strengthening Ukrainian exports,” said Yuliia Plyska, Director of the GR and Corporatization Department of SE “Forests of Ukraine.”

The draft law “On the Timber Market,” which is currently being prepared for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, aims to address most of these issues.

SFE “Forests of Ukraine” consistently supports the main provisions of the draft law, which are aimed at maintaining a transparent system for timber sales and supporting Ukrainian producers.