The state-owned enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" marks a successful three-year history of selling raw wood on licensed exchanges, achieving an impressive rate of almost 90% fulfillment of sales contracts.
According to the general director Yuri Bolokhovets, the strategic decision to abandon non-transparent direct contracts made it possible to create a competitive and transparent environment for all market participants. This decision not only increased efficiency, but also helped many forest users to adapt to new realities after 2021.
The reform of the industry began simultaneously with the creation of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine", which contributed to the withdrawal of significant financial resources from the shadows. Production profitability increased to 16%, and over the past year and a half, the company's profit amounted to UAH 5.35 billion.
As part of self-sufficiency, the company has given up state subsidies since 2023, paying almost UAH 15 billion in taxes and fees, as well as handing over a quarter of a billion hryvnias worth of wood to the Armed Forces of Ukraine free of charge in the first half of this year.
In addition, significant investments were directed to the development of the fire prevention system and the improvement of forest road infrastructure. The average salary at the company increased to over UAH 24,000.
Since 2016, a forestry reform has been underway in Ukraine, which involves the sale of raw wood through electronic auctions. In the test mode, an interactive map of the location of wood processing facilities has started working.
The "Forest in a smartphone" project includes a list of logging tickets and allows you to check the legality of logging on an online map. From June 1, 2023, a pilot project for the electronic issuance of logging tickets and certificates of wood origin was also launched.
Additionally, State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" has launched a project to purchase wood harvesting services through the Prozorro electronic platform, increasing the efficiency and transparency of processes.
