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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.

The attack completely destroyed garage facilities, the fire station, the boiler house, and specialized equipment.

Fortunately, none of the forestry employees were injured, and their families have been evacuated. Despite these extremely difficult conditions, forestry workers continue their duties – conducting patrols to detect illegal logging and forest fires.

Since the front line is nearby and a significant part of the forestry is mined, fires break out almost daily. Most of the firefighting equipment was saved, so foresters still have the means to extinguish the blazes.

However, due to the challenging security situation, the shortage of personnel has worsened. Currently, there is only one firefighting driver left for the entire forestry unit.

Recently, the process of integrating the Lyman State Forestry Enterprise into the branch “Eastern Forestry Office” of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” was completed, and the Donetsk Forestry Unit was established. This merger will help resolve a number of operational issues, including equipment repair, timber harvesting, and ensuring the needs of both the local population and the military.

Fire reservoirs must provide a reserve of water for extinguishing forest fires and, at a critical moment, help forest workers save vast areas. We constantly work to ensure they are properly maintained and meet all requirements.

At present, the enterprise’s forest areas contain more than 3,500 fire reservoirs. Among them, 1,500 are natural water bodies — rivers, lakes — and over 2,000 are artificial ones, such as ponds, canals, and specially created water facilities in places where they are needed.

What should a fire reservoir be equipped with?

A reservoir must have a convenient pier for water intake. Currently, 953 natural reservoirs and more than 1,600 artificial ones are equipped with piers. Work on their arrangement is ongoing. Just last month, forestries of the Tsentralnyi Forest Office equipped 10 fire reservoirs with piers. Another 28 reservoirs were improved in June–July by the Pivnichnyi Forest Office.

A fire reservoir must have sufficient depth so that the motor pump does not draw in silt. The effective water reserve in properly arranged reservoirs during the hottest summer periods should be at least 100 cubic meters. Forest protection services inspect their condition quarterly!

There must also be convenient access roads for water intake that can withstand the weight of firefighting equipment. The number of such access points depends on the area the reservoir serves.

It is mandatory to install a sign “Fire Reservoir” indicating its capacity.

An artificial fire reservoir must be watertight to prevent water loss. Foresters have equipped more than 70 artificial reservoirs with water storage tanks. About 30 reservoirs also have backup cisterns for water delivery.

Our forest fire brigades also constantly monitor the condition of access roads to reservoirs and forest management fire roads.

Trading of unprocessed wood for delivery in the fourth quarter is ongoing. In Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Poltava, and several other regions, auctions have already concluded. One of the surprises was the sharp increase in prices for industrial firewood, which serves as raw material for the production of boards and other products.

The starting prices set by SFE “Forests of Ukraine” were lower than current market sales, and the offered volumes matched last year’s levels (taking into account resources previously contracted under forward half-year agreements). However, participants competed too aggressively for the resource — as a result, the price of coniferous firewood rose from 1.23 to 1.97 thousand UAH per m³. The price of softwood firewood increased from 1,000 UAH to almost 1,700 UAH per m³, while hardwood firewood rose from 1,500 UAH to 1,850 UAH per m³.

Almost 100% of the volumes offered were purchased, which reflects an objective market trend linked to growing demand for Ukrainian wood products in the European market.

Unlike industrial firewood, fuelwood from SFE “Forests of Ukraine” is now sold exclusively to the population and the social sector. This type of product was not put up for commercial trading on the exchange.

The price of fuelwood remains stable. Depending on the region, the average cost ranges from 1,000 to 1,200 UAH (including VAT). Traditionally, hardwood fuelwood is in greatest demand among the population, with prices ranging from 1,200 to 1,500 UAH (including VAT). Compared to last year, changes are minor — growth occurred only within the annual inflation rate.

It should be noted that the recommended annual purchase volume of fuelwood is no more than 15 m³ per person.

Last year, households and the social sector purchased around 2.2 million m³ of fuelwood. Since the beginning of this year, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” branches have already sold 1.25 million m³. By the end of the year, another 1 million m³ is planned to be harvested — enough to meet the demand for solid fuel. Between January 2026 and the end of the 2025–2026 heating season, an additional 500,000 m³ of fuelwood is scheduled to be harvested.

Currently, most forestry units of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” have fuelwood available, with no waiting lines. To purchase, only an ID and taxpayer identification number (TIN) are required.

The largest volumes of fuelwood are purchased by residents of Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, and Vinnytsia regions. The Carpathian region ranks second, followed by Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, and Bukovyna.