Russia and Belarus are being pushed out of the global market as timber suppliers. Ukraine plans to take their place.
The importance of Ukraine's potential in the timber market was emphasised by Rostyslav Shurma (Rostyslav Shurma), Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, at a working group meeting dedicated to forestry sector reforms. According to an Ukrinform report, R. Shurma expressed the country's aspirations to develop a large-scale and efficient wood product manufacturing industry. The goal of these efforts is to significantly increase the production of various wood products, such as furniture parts, MDF, parquet, timber, building materials, pulp, paper, and new bioenergy materials.
Rostyslav Shurma elaborated on the economic dynamics involved, noting that while a cubic metre of raw timber currently costs approximately 50-100 US dollars, the prices for finished wood products can reach 700 to 3000 US dollars. To realise this ambitious vision, Ukraine plans to increase the annual timber harvest volume from the current 13 million cubic metres to 25 million cubic metres. The Scandinavian model, where reforestation is mandatory after every hectare of forest is felled, serves as the inspiration for this goal.
Another key goal for Ukraine is to bring order to the forestry sector. This includes the mechanisation of logging, the transition from manual to mechanised logging, and the implementation of efficient monitoring and control systems to track volumes, increase productivity, reduce costs, and minimise the need for re-sorting. To achieve these goals, 'Forests of Ukraine', the unified state specialised forestry enterprise, will lead a comprehensive modernisation and equipment procurement programme, as outlined by the Deputy Head of the Office of the President.
The 'Forests of Ukraine' enterprise was established in September 2022 as the legal successor to the assets, rights, and obligations of state-owned specialised forestry enterprises. To further streamline operations, 145 branches of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine were created, based on state forest enterprises. These branches will play a vital role in ensuring forest protection, sustainable use, and reforestation, while also conducting commercial activities, such as the sale of timber.
Looking to the future, the state-owned enterprise 'Forests of Ukraine' has already begun developing a new timber circulation monitoring and control system. This initiative demonstrates a commitment to implementing efficient and responsible forest management practices, promoting transparency and accountability in the sector.