Ukrainian companies in the pulp and paper industry produced approximately 49 million rolls of toilet paper in August 2026, a 4% increase compared to the same month last year, according to the “UkrPapier” association.
The segment of products made from primary raw materials grew particularly rapidly. Production of toilet paper made from 100% pulp reached 23.3 million rolls, an increase of 19.6% year-over-year.
Thus, products made from pure cellulose accounted for nearly 48% of the total toilet paper output by companies providing statistics to the association.
The growth in this segment is occurring against the backdrop of weaker performance in the paper industry as a whole. Total production of paper and cardboard in August decreased by 2.3% to 54.3 thousand metric tons.
Production of base paper for sanitary and hygiene products totaled 11.08 thousand metric tons, which is 1.8% less than in August of last year.
According to the association, sanitary and hygiene products remain one of the most stable segments of the Ukrainian pulp and paper industry. In the first seven months of 2026, production of toilet paper in rolls was 6.6% higher than during the same period in 2025.
Among the companies operating in this segment and providing data to the association are, in particular, the Kokhavynska Paper Mill and “VGP,” which manufactures products under the “Ruta” brand.
Source: “UkrPapier” Association.
The combined revenue of Ukrainian tobacco companies that reported for the first half of both 2025 and 2026 increased by 10% and reached UAH 198.18 billion, according to Opendatabot.
The analysis included 41 companies that presented comparable financial statements for both periods. In absolute terms, their combined revenue increased by UAH 18.16 billion. Revenues grew at 26 companies, while they declined at 14 market participants.
At the same time, the increase in turnover did not lead to higher net profit. The companies’ combined net financial result decreased by approximately 8% compared with the first half of 2025, to UAH 6.5 billion.
At the same time, the structure of the industry in terms of profitability improved. In the first half of 2026, 29 out of 41 companies, or about 71% of the companies in the sample, made a profit. A year earlier, the share of profitable enterprises stood at 63%.
The number of loss-making companies declined from 14 to 11 over the year.
In total, 50 tobacco industry companies submitted financial statements for the first half of 2026, which is 13 fewer than in the same period last year. The comparison was conducted only among enterprises that submitted reports for both periods.
As of September 2026, 1,101 active companies operating in the tobacco sector were registered in Ukraine.
Ukrainian enterprises operating in the ferrous scrap market have called for the abolition of the current zero quota on raw material exports and the introduction of controlled supplies to EU countries, stating that the situation in the industry has sharply deteriorated.
Representatives of companies and the industry association reported this at the press conference “Ukraine’s Scrap Market: Between the Needs of the Economy and Regulatory Uncertainty,” held on September 16 at the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
Volodymyr Bubley, president of the Ukrainian Association of Secondary Metals “UAVtormet,” said that the zero quota on scrap exports to the EU, introduced from the beginning of 2026, is negatively affecting raw material collection and the activities of industry enterprises. According to him, if the current restrictions remain in place, scrap collection volumes may decline significantly by the end of the year.
Serhiy Vovk, CEO of UkrMetInvest LLC, said that the company has already laid off 180 employees, while only four of its 18 production sites continue to operate. More than 14,000 tonnes of scrap that the company is unable to sell have accumulated at its warehouses.
Mykola Klymovych, development director of Mirten LLC, noted that over the eight months of 2026, the volume of scrap collection, according to industry representatives’ estimates, fell by approximately 400,000 tonnes. Market participants estimate losses in tax revenues at more than UAH 1 billion.
Vladyslav Kleshchynskyi, CEO of the UKRMET Group, said that domestic demand from metallurgical enterprises had fallen sharply and that regulated scrap exports to the EU needed to be permitted. Industry representatives had previously proposed setting an export quota at around 200,000 tonnes per year.
According to UAVtormet, around 4.3 million tonnes of steel were produced in Ukraine in January-August 2026, compared with 7.409 million tonnes for the whole of 2025. Scrap metal supplies to metallurgical enterprises over the eight months amounted to 925,400 tonnes, while total collection reached 971,700 tonnes.
The association forecasts that by the end of 2026, steel production will amount to around 6.4-6.5 million tonnes, scrap supplies to metallurgical enterprises to 1.2-1.25 million tonnes, and total collection to approximately 1.22-1.25 million tonnes.
Exports of Ukrainian ferrous scrap in January-August 2026 fell by 95.1% compared with the same period last year, to 13,856 tonnes from 283,055 tonnes. In monetary terms, supplies decreased by 95.4% to $3.93 million.
In 2025, by contrast, scrap exports rose by 45.3% to 448,685 tonnes, while foreign-currency revenue increased by 44.5% to $131.927 million. It was precisely the sharp increase in raw material exports that became one of the reasons for the Ministry of Economy’s introduction of a licensing regime and a zero export quota for 2026.
In April, the government partially adjusted the restrictions, allowing exports under licenses for individual foreign economic activity entities that had won state electronic auctions. However, representatives of the scrap collection industry consider this mechanism insufficient to restore the market to full operation.
Participants in the press conference said that if the current regulatory model remains in place, they will seek a review of the decision and do not rule out protest actions.
In August 2026, Ukraine’s major pulp and paper companies produced 54,300 metric tons of paper and cardboard, which is 2.3% less than in August of last year and 1.8% lower than the July figure, according to the UkrPapier Association.
At the same time, the value of commercial products produced by these companies continued to rise. In August, it reached 2.75 billion UAH, which is 17.5% higher than the figure for August 2025. Compared to July of this year, however, the figure fell by nearly 10%.
Thus, the growth in industry revenue occurred against the backdrop of a decline in physical production volumes, which may reflect a change in the structure of output and higher prices for finished products.
Paper production in August slightly exceeded last year’s figure, totaling 12,280 metric tons. The bulk of this was base paper for sanitary and hygiene products—11,080 metric tons—which was 1.8% less than a year earlier.
Cardboard output fell by 3.1% to 42,000 metric tons. Of this total, 33,100 metric tons consisted of packaging cardboard and paper for corrugation, the production of which declined by 7.8%.
Among the largest enterprises providing data to the association are the Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill, the Trypillya Packaging Plant, the Kokhavyn Paper Mill, “VGP” (TM “Ruta”), “Poninkivska KPF-Ukraine,” and the Lviv-based “Cardboard and Paper Company.”
In 2025, paper and cardboard production in Ukraine increased by 4.8% to 630,000 metric tons.
Source: “UkrPapier” Association.
Canada ranked first in terms of the balance of positive and negative attitudes among Ukrainians among Ukraine’s 50 largest trading partners, while China, which leads in trade turnover, received the lowest indicator, and attitudes toward Poland deteriorated significantly, according to the results of a study by Active Group and the Experts Club information and analytical center.
According to the published ranking, the balance of positive and negative assessments of Canada amounted to plus 73.8 percentage points. It was followed by Sweden – plus 70.6 p.p., the Netherlands – 69.7 p.p., Finland and Norway – 69.3 p.p. each, France – 69.1 p.p., Italy – 67.1 p.p., Lithuania – 65.9 p.p., Switzerland and the United Kingdom – 65.6 p.p. each.
This indicator is the difference between the shares of positive and negative responses. In particular, 76.3% of respondents have a positive attitude toward Canada, 2.5% have a negative attitude, and 19.2% have a neutral attitude.
The worst balance was recorded for China – minus 25.4 p.p.: 18.2% of respondents assess it positively, 43.6% negatively, and 33.9% neutrally. India also has a negative indicator – minus 14.3 p.p., Hungary – minus 12.7 p.p., and Lebanon – minus 9.2 p.p.
Doctor of Sociological Sciences and head of the Kyiv branch of the Sociological Association of Ukraine Olga Bezrukova called China an illustrative example of the gap between the scale of economic interaction and the country’s public image.
“We saw that China is Ukraine’s largest economic partner in terms of total trade turnover, but this is in no way converted into a positive public image. This shows that Ukrainian citizens clearly distinguish between the pragmatism of economic interaction and the overall assessment of a state. Economic dependence and interaction do not equal public sympathy for this country,” she emphasized at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday.
One of the most noticeable changes was the deterioration in attitudes toward Poland. While in March 2026 the balance of assessments stood at plus 41.7 p.p., in August positive and negative responses were practically equal, with a slight predominance of negative ones. A positive attitude was expressed by 34.6% of respondents, a negative one by 37%, and a neutral one by 25.4%.
“At the beginning of the invasion, Poland was perceived almost as the main partner. We asked about the rapprochement between Ukraine and Poland, political and economic, even about uniting into some kind of common union, and we saw enormous positive results. But here we see: Poland seemingly still remains a key partner, but the idea of unification has already been forgotten, and we see stable negativity,” said Active Group founder Andriy Yeremenko.
He linked the deterioration in assessments to the position of part of the Polish authorities, which he considers anti-Ukrainian.
At the same time, the balance of attitudes toward Hungary improved from minus 33.6 p.p. in March to minus 12.7 p.p. in August, although negative assessments still prevail. For the United States, the indicator rose from plus 19.4 to plus 38.4 p.p. Some 55% of respondents have a positive attitude toward the United States, 16.6% a negative attitude, and 25.6% a neutral attitude.
When asked who contributes most to achieving peace in Ukraine, 44.6% of respondents named European Union countries, 25.2% the United States, 23.3% the United Kingdom, 4.1% China, 1.8% India, and 1% Brazil. Regarding priority development of trade and economic relations, 69.9% chose EU countries and the United Kingdom, 11.9% the United States, and 8.4% China.
According to Bezrukova, assessments of the U.S. role in achieving peace remained relatively stable throughout the three waves of the study.
“General sympathy toward a country and an assessment of its functionality at the international level are related but not identical things. Images of countries are multidimensional. A person may change their emotional attitude toward a state but continue to recognize its international weight,” the sociologist explained.
Another model, she said, is demonstrated by India: 48.3% of respondents express a neutral attitude toward it, but among formed assessments negative ones prevail – 31.5% versus 17.2% positive.
The economic indicators were presented by Experts Club founder, deputy director of the Interfax-Ukraine agency and PhD in Economics Maksym Urakin. According to State Customs Service data cited by him, in the first half of 2026 Ukraine’s trade turnover amounted to $70.3 billion, exports to $21 billion, and imports to $49.3 billion. The negative balance of trade in goods reached $28.3 billion.
“If we compare this with the first half of 2025, there was also an imbalance then, but now exports have increased by approximately 5%, while imports have risen by almost 30%. That is, the deficit increased by more than $10 billion over the year. Therefore, it is very important for us to analyze our main partners,” he emphasized.
According to the materials presented, trade turnover with China in January-June amounted to about $14.68 billion. Ukraine exported $778 million worth of goods to China and imported $13.90 billion, forming a deficit of approximately $13.12 billion. Poland remained the largest buyer of Ukrainian goods, with a volume of $2.38 billion. Türkiye ranked second among export markets with $1.78 billion, and Italy third with $1.28 billion.
In terms of total trade volume, China is followed by Poland – $7.05 billion, Türkiye – $4.90 billion, Germany – $4.48 billion, and the United States – $3.07 billion. Yeremenko highlighted Türkiye as an example of a combination of significant trade turnover and predominantly positive perception: 52.3% of respondents have a favorable attitude toward it, while 7.4% have a negative attitude.
Urakin separately drew attention to partners with which trade provides Ukraine with a positive balance. In the first half of the year, the largest was with Spain – $578.1 million, Egypt – $527.1 million, and Moldova – $467.2 million. They were followed by Algeria – $309.2 million, the Netherlands – $221.5 million, and Lebanon – $220.5 million. Libya, Tunisia, Iraq, and Yemen also entered the top ten.
At the same time, neutral attitudes prevail toward a number of these partners. Egypt is assessed neutrally by 61.3% of respondents, Algeria by 65.8%, and Tunisia by 67.3%. Participants in the press conference linked this to insufficient awareness among Ukrainians about these countries and emphasized the need for more active economic and public diplomacy.
“It is necessary to develop not only general awareness better. First of all, business associations, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs need to work to develop bilateral relations and improve the balance. In conditions where Ukraine already lacks financing and we live, essentially, at the expense of external borrowing, cooperation should be expanded with countries where we can have a positive balance,” said Active Group director Oleksandr Pozniy.
Urakin recommended that embassies accredited in Ukraine ensure full communication in the Ukrainian language, openness to the media, and regular reporting on the results of cooperation.
“The first recommendation is to regularly show concrete deeds, concrete actions, the presence here of foundations, embassies, teams, diplomats in the humanitarian sphere and in science. Second, to be open to questions and requests from the media and the public. We also need to use our sociology to draw conclusions and cement our relations, primarily trade relations,” he added.
This is the third wave of the study; the previous ones were conducted in August 2025 and March 2026. The survey was conducted in August 2026 using self-completed online questionnaires in the SunFlowerSociology panel. A total of 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and over were surveyed. According to the organizers, the sample is representative by age, gender and region, and the stated maximum theoretical statistical margin of error at a 95% confidence level is 3.5%.
ACTIVE GROUP, CANADA, CHINA, EXPERTS CLUB, POLAND, PUBLIC OPINION, TRADE, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES
Production of corrugated cardboard boxes by Ukraine’s leading companies in the industry in August 2026 decreased by 11% compared to August of last year—to 46 million square meters, according to data from the “UkrPapier” association.
Compared to July of this year, corrugated packaging output decreased by approximately 8%.
The decline in finished packaging output was accompanied by a reduction in the production of raw materials for it. In August, companies produced 33,100 metric tons of packaging board, including paper for corrugation, which is 7.8% less than last year’s figure.
Total cardboard production amounted to 42 thousand metric tons, down 3.1% year-over-year.
August’s performance contrasts with last year’s results. By the end of 2025, Ukrainian companies had increased production of corrugated cardboard boxes by 2.1%—to 599.6 million square meters.
Corrugated packaging is widely used in the food industry, e-commerce, logistics, consumer goods manufacturing, and export shipments; therefore, its production volume serves as an indicator of activity across several economic sectors.
According to previously published data from the association, in the first seven months of 2026, corrugated packaging production also lagged behind last year’s level by approximately 2.7%. August significantly exacerbated this downward trend.
Under martial law, the “UkrPapier” Association does not publish individual production figures for each company.
Source: “UkrBumaga”.
CARDBOARD, CORRUGATED PACKAGING, PACKAGING, PRODUCTION, UKRAINE
