The Ukrainian government has moved to partially deregulate the forestry sector in order to increase the volume of commercial timber harvested. According to the authorities’ estimates, this will make it possible to produce an additional 1.5 million cubic metres of timber each year. At the same time, they promise that the areas subject to logging will not increase.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, the government has adopted a whole package of deregulation measures. The official reason given for this was the shortage of raw materials reported by timber-processing enterprises.
Key changes
Government officials have simplified the rules regarding the documentation required for tree felling. Among the updates are:
- sanitary cuts will now be approved in 10 days instead of 14;
- the procedure for obtaining logging tickets in the electronic system has been simplified;
- timber harvested during sanitary and maintenance felling will be excluded from the general limit for final felling.
At the same time, improvement of exchange mechanisms on the timber market will continue. The Ministry of Economy emphasized that this enhances market predictability. Following the implementation of buyer verification through competitive mechanisms, 72% of timber is now sold via the exchange. The average price on the exchange remains at 3247 UAH per cubic meter.
The government has also mentioned the European regulation on deforestation prevention (EUDR). Its implementation, as promised, should be the next stage in regulatory forestry legislation. This European document stipulates that forestry should become closer to natural practices. At the same time, it will enhance traceability of Ukrainian timber origins.
In general, in 2026, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” is expected to harvest 12.5 million cubic meters of timber, with 44% of it being commercial timber.
The Ministry of Economy declares that the forestry sector had been excessively regulated. The changes are expected to benefit the industry. However, they have also promised to consider environmental concerns.
“Our goal is a systematic increase in timber supply for domestic processing and the defense sector without harming the environment, as well as the formation of a transparent and predictable market. The recently adopted governmental package of deregulation decisions is aimed not at expanding the scale of felling, but at increasing its efficiency,” stated Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine.
Many environmentalists believe that sanitary cuts are widely used as a cover for industrial logging. EcoPolitic reported that experts from the NGO “Forest Initiatives and Society” have uncovered schemes involving document falsification, dishonest forest condition assessments, and machinations with cutting area sizes.
Such episodes periodically become grounds for criminal cases. For example, land parcel division to avoid the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure occurred in the Kherson region. Thus, under the pretext of enemy shelling, officials of the Velykoolesandrivske forestry destroyed more than 2,000 trees worth almost 8 million UAH.
