Victor Smal took part in a meeting chaired by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, which was attended by members of parliament and representatives of the woodworking/furniture industry.
The government confirmed its clear commitment to supporting the production and sale of finished products with high added value, rather than just raw materials. At the same time, the main task remains to maintain a balance between the economic, environmental, social and European integration interests of Ukraine. The government has already created the conditions for this:
A temporary zero quota on exports of raw wood is in force
The validity of forest management materials has been extended
The process of transforming the state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ into a joint-stock company has begun
An operational plan for the implementation of the State Forest Management Strategy until 2035 has been approved
This is also facilitated by the fact that:
Ukraine has been granted low-risk status by the European Commission in the field of timber exports, in recognition of the effectiveness of our reforms
A digital timber traceability chain is in place: e-logging ticket, e-TTN with photo recording, e-certificate of timber origin, electronic timber accounting system.
The Ukrainian forestry sector is ready to implement the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
However, there is still a lot of work ahead. The main tasks from the government for the near future, which we will be working on, are:
Continuation of the zero quota on exports of unprocessed timber for 2026 to ensure raw materials for Ukrainian businesses
Revision of the regulatory framework to increase timber harvesting
Increasing the volume of timber harvesting and sales by the State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’
Reforming timber trading on exchanges to restrict access by disreputable participants
We are continuing to work on improving the efficiency of the forestry sector, which is one of the powerful factors in Ukraine’s economic strengthening at this difficult time for everyone.
