On January 8, 2025, the Committee on Economic Development of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine held a round table and discussed  the Draft Law of Ukraine “On the Timber Market” (reg. No. 4197-d)”, which was attended by the National Coordinator of the SFI project Vitaliy Storozhuk.

The thematic discussion during the meeting concerned the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘promise to offer’, which was the main topic of the document approved in the first reading in 2021, compared to exchange trading, which is proposed as an exclusive form of sale of unprocessed timber, fuel wood on the timber market in the updated text of the draft law, which is being prepared for consideration in the second reading at the current session of the parliament.

A tense discussion between the participants of the round table – representatives of the woodworking business indicates the need for further refinement of the draft law. In particular, the participants drew attention to the proposed extension of the ban on the export of unprocessed timber (and in addition -of fuel wood) proposed in the draft law for the entire period of martial law and for another five years after its completion.

In addition, according to the experts of the SFI project, the current version of the draft law was developed with insufficient assessment of the impact forest management and timber markets. Thus, the extension of the export ban contradicts the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and GATT XXI, as well as the macroeconomic foundations of the free market organization, which guarantees maximum benefits for both producers and consumers.

“According to the current version of the draft law, the central body that implements state policy in the field of forestry should be given the authority to regulate the timber market. If now the functions of state forest management are supported insufficiently, then the concentration of efforts of the State Forest Resources Agency on monitoring compliance with the requirements of the new law by timber market participants will lead to a potential risk of weakening state control and supervision over forestry”, – assumed Storozhuk.