In January of this year, Forests of Ukraine closed its workshops throughout the country due to increased competition from private enterprises. Company director Yuri Bolokhovets said that forestry enterprises were previously engaged in processing due to the unprofitability of selling round wood. But with the development of the private sector, competition in the market has increased.
Bolokhovets gave an example of a workshop in one of the branches that produces parquet oak lamellas. Over the 10 months of 2023, this workshop earned UAH 8.3 million, but bought oak at a price below the market price. He noted that if the same wood were sold at auction, the branch would earn significantly more.
In 2023, the Forests of Ukraine workshops processed 0.9 million cubic meters of wood, which has a market value of UAH 2.15 billion. Sales of lumber resulted in UAH 2.3 billion. The difference between expenses and income is only UAH 150 million, which is significantly less than what was spent on production.
Bolokhovets offered to leave the workshops on the condition of purchasing raw materials at market prices and increasing production efficiency, but the offer was rejected. He added that this would make it possible to get rid of subsidies and corruption, which would make the situation easier for Forests of Ukraine.
The state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" is one of the largest forest users in Europe and Ukraine, owned by the State Forestry Agency and manages 6.6 million hectares of the state forest fund. Earlier it was also reported that the cutting down of a protected forest was allowed, leading to damage and charges against an official of Forests of Ukraine.
