The state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in the first three months of 2024 significantly increased its revenue from the sale of wood, reaching UAH 5.1 billion, which is 30.8% higher than the same period in 2023. This was announced by General Director Yuri Bolokhovets. He also noted that profit before tax increased to almost UAH 1 billion, and tax payments increased by more than UAH 850 million.
Due to the blockade of western borders, processors and foresters are faced with an increase in the cost of export logistics, which Bolokhovets noted as a negative factor this year. At the same time, he highlighted positive changes, such as the closure of unprofitable forestry processing workshops and the denationalization of the market, which increased competition and transparency, and also reduced corruption risks. The full results of these changes are expected in the second and third quarters of this year.
Since 2016, forestry reform has been carried out in Ukraine, as part of which the sale of unprocessed wood through electronic auctions was introduced. In addition to this, an interactive map of processing facilities has been launched in test mode in some areas. The implementation of the “Forest in a Smartphone” project made it possible to ensure transparency in timber harvesting, providing the opportunity to check the legality of logging using the department’s online map. Since June 2023, a pilot implementation of the electronic issuance of logging tickets and certificates of origin has begun, and a pilot project has been launched for the procurement of timber harvesting services through the Prozorro platform, which is part of extensive efforts to modernize the industry.
