The Cabinet of Ministers is transferring State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” to the status of a joint-stock company, but 100% of the shares will remain in state ownership, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced.
“Today, at a government meeting, a number of decisions were made that are important for the stability and development of the forestry industry. State Enterprise ”Forests of Ukraine” is transitioning to the status of a joint-stock company. We are doing this to ensure a more effective corporate governance model with transparent reporting and to increase the competitiveness of the enterprise,” Svyrydenko wrote on Telegram following the results of Friday’s government meeting.
According to her, the transformation of the enterprise into a joint-stock company does not imply privatization—100% of the shares remain in state ownership.
Subsequently, the prime minister’s message was edited, and information about this decision was removed.
In 2025, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” held tenders for the purchase of goods and services worth over UAH 10 billion, as a result of which it was able to save UAH 700 million, the press service of the state-owned enterprise reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the top three categories of purchases were: logging and related services; fuel; vehicles, equipment, spare parts, and related services.
“97% of the procurement budget is directed through tenders on Prozorro. This is the highest figure not only since the establishment of the enterprise, but also in the entire history of Ukrainian state forestry,” the state-owned enterprise emphasized.
Lisy Ukrainy noted that the most revolutionary changes took place in the procurement of logging services, where traditionally contractors harvest about 80% of the timber, and the remaining 20% is harvested by the enterprise’s own teams. Prior to the reform, state forestry enterprises entered into direct contracts for harvesting without conducting a competitive procedure. Currently, 100% of logging services are procured through Prozorro.
The state-owned enterprise stated that since the beginning of the year, more than 2,000 tenders have been announced, and more than 1,500 procedures have been successfully completed for a total of UAH 2.7 billion.
At the same time, Lisy Ukrainy has centralized and demonopolized fuel purchases and now has several suppliers selected through tenders. The enterprise was able to save up to UAH 12 on each liter of fuel.
The state-owned enterprise added that it was able to achieve high results thanks to well-established communication with businesses, distributors, and manufacturers. This helped to adapt the terms of tenders to market realities and attract the widest possible range of participants to the tenders.
For the third time, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” held an exchange auction with the possibility of concluding forward contracts for the first half of 2026 for a period of six months at a fixed price for the purchase of forest products, as a result of which 100% of the volume put up for auction was contracted, the press service of the state-owned enterprise reported.
“Forests of Ukraine” recalled that it put up for auction 465 lots with a volume of 1.4 million cubic meters of forest products (35% of the planned volume of half-yearly timber harvesting for commercial sale) and informed market participants in advance about the volume and structure of the lots.
“Both firewood and roundwood were sold at 100% of the volumes put up for auction,” the statement said.
The company set the starting prices at the auction at the level of the starting prices for the fourth quarter of 2025, which turned out to be significantly lower than the current sales prices. The average selling price for commercial pine in the fourth quarter was UAH 5,900/cubic meter, while the starting price for forward trading was UAH 3,900/cubic meter. Industrial firewood (PV) from coniferous species was sold for UAH 2.3 thousand/cubic meter, while the starting price was UAH 1.3 thousand/cubic meter.
During the auction, commercial pine rose in price to UAH 6.2 thousand/cubic meter, and PV firewood from coniferous species rose to UAH 2.4 thousand/cubic meter. Compared to the general auction in the fourth quarter, beech rose the most in price, to almost UAH 7 thousand/cubic meter (+52%).
The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” assured that it would ensure the delivery of all timber sold under forward contracts. As of November 17, the fulfillment of forward contracts for the second half of 2025 is 75% and corresponds to the planned indicator.
As for supplying firewood to energy companies, the state-owned enterprise is a regular participant in tender procedures for the purchase of wood for state customers in accordance with the Law “On Public Procurement.”
Lesy Ukrainy has attracted the attention of energy-generating enterprises, as foresters are ready to supply more than 1 million cubic meters of logging residues for their needs.
The state-owned enterprise added that more than 40% of the firewood has already been sold to the population and social facilities at fixed prices for the heating period.
State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has launched an autumn forestry campaign, which will see the completion of the President’s “Green Country” program to plant a billion trees. The billionth tree is planned to be planted in a month. According to the head of the enterprise, Yuriy Bolokhovets, the main goal of the initiative is not only to achieve a quantitative indicator, but also to restore ecosystems and form a culture of responsible attitude towards nature.
“The restoration of Ukrainian forests and the increase in the area of forest reserves should unite Ukrainian society and draw attention to the problems of ecology and biodiversity conservation. Forest restoration is part of the restoration of our country,” Bolokhovets said.
During the final stage of Green Country, special attention is being paid to creating new forests in regions where they did not previously exist, or restoring areas destroyed by military operations, fires, or illegal logging.
The first autumn planting took place in the Kyiv region, in the Khotianiv Forestry (Dymerske Forestry) near the village of Nyzhnia Dubechnya. Last year, almost a hectare of young forest burned down in this area after a rocket strike. In total, since the beginning of the year, more than 60 hectares of forest have been destroyed in the Dymer Forestry due to UAV and rocket strikes.
Pupils from the Vyshedubechansky school forestry, students from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, and children of forestry workers joined in the restoration efforts.
“We are creating new forests for future generations of Ukrainians, so it is very important to instill in our children and young people a love for the forest and a responsible attitude towards it,” emphasized the head of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine.”
The restoration of the destroyed area is being carried out using modern technology: rowan, birch, and viburnum are being planted along with pine trees. This combination of species promotes better seedling survival, maintains biodiversity, and reduces the risk of fires.
Pine seedlings with a closed root system are grown at the selection and seed center in Zhytomyr region.
Over the next few weeks, the autumn forestry campaign will start in all of the company’s forestry operations.
According to Bolokhovets, “Green Country” is a joint project that symbolizes the future: “We are restoring forests together with children, schoolchildren, and students — after all, this is the country in which they will live and work.”
The state forest fund of Ukraine is 10.4 million hectares, of which 9.6 million hectares are covered with forest, and about 2 million hectares are occupied by self-forested territories, the head of the State Forestry Agency Viktor Smal said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He specified that the State Forestry Agency manages 73% of the forest fund, 13% are communal forests, 1% are defense forests, and 6% are in the use of other agencies. “About 7% of forests are historically not provided for use, and we seek their transfer to state enterprises. We have already received positive decisions on about half of the 45,000 hectares of submitted applications,” he said.
The State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine is a central executive body coordinating the management, protection, reproduction and rational use of forest resources of the country. The agency supervises more than 70 state enterprises, including the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”, as well as scientific, environmental and inventory institutions.
In January–September 2025, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” increased its revenue from product sales by 25.4% compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 21.7 billion, according to the press service of the state-owned enterprise.
According to the report, half of the funds received by Forests of Ukraine were directed to budgets at all levels. The enterprise also increased its tax payments in the current year by almost 70% to UAH 10.7 billion.
“Thanks to the growth in sales revenue, significant savings on purchases, and optimization of expenses, profitability increased from 14.8% to 28.6% compared to last year,” Lisy Ukrainy specified.
In September, the state-owned enterprise harvested the largest volume of timber in the last five months. Harvesting volumes reached 1.07-1.1 million cubic meters per month.
The fulfillment of auction contracts for the supply of timber currently stands at over 90%, and taking into account buyer refusals, 97%. A significant proportion of refusals occur in the frontline, eastern, and northern regions, where the risks of harvesting or delivering products have increased. Forward six-month contracts are almost 100% fulfilled.
The balance of products in the company’s warehouses at the end of the quarter is the lowest since the beginning of the year – 550 thousand cubic meters.
Lesy Ukrainy drew attention to the seasonal increase in demand for firewood for the population, which corresponds to last year’s level. In September, the company harvested over 300,000 cubic meters of firewood. By the end of 2025, it plans to harvest over 900,000 cubic meters more to build up a strategic reserve for the winter period.
“Exchange prices for firewood have risen significantly since last year. For the population and the social sphere, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” maintains social prices at a stable level. The average cost of firewood in Ukraine, as in the previous year, is approximately 1-1.1 thousand hryvnia per cubic meter,” the state-owned enterprise summarized.
