Ukrainian government temporarily extends unprocessed wood export ban ahead of moratorium's end

MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - The moratorium on unprocessed wood exports, imposed in Ukraine for ten years on November 1, 2015, has been temporarily extended in the form of the zero export quotas by a decision of the Ukrainian government until the end of the year, Ukrainian media outlets said with a reference to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko.

"The government made a decision to temporarily ban unprocessed wood exports in response to the businesses community' request. It is a necessary step to take care of people during the winter, maintain the operations of our enterprises and reduce the burden on the environment," the press quoted her as saying on social media following her visit to the Rovno region.

The volume of logging has considerably decreased in Ukraine during the crisis, Sviridenko said. "Enterprises which could have operated are stalling or working at minimum capacities due to the wood shortage. The army requires wood for its own needs. Life in rural communities, where wood is the key resource for heating during winters, depends on the availability of wood," she said.

"Exports of wood will create additional burden on the environment," she said. "The decision envisages export licensing, the quota is zero until the end of the year. We are continuing to work out the next steps to systemically resolve the wood shortage," she said.

Ukraine's State Forest Resources Agency head Viktor Smal told reporters earlier that in accordance with the law adopted in 2015, the moratorium on exports of all unprocessed wood from all tree species, except for pine (the ten-year moratorium on its exports was introduced on January 1, 2017), is expiring on November 1, 2025.

The bill on the wood market, which is currently prepared for the first reading, envisages the extension of the moratorium during martial law and for ten more years after it, Smal said.

"Ten years are definitely, in my opinion, enough to recover from all this turmoil in terms of both production and investments," he said.'

The moratorium was beneficial, because a large quantity of production facilities expanded and opened in Ukraine, he said. "If we look at the structure of our export, we will see that the depth to our wood processing leaves much to be desired. We should try to make a baby crib, a kitchen chair, a table and export them instead of a plank, a beam, or a pallet," Smal said.

As reported, Ukraine exported wood and wood products worth $1.131 million in January-August 2025, up by 15.5% YoY. In the same period, Ukraine imported wood and wood products worth $160.5 million, up by 8.8% from January-August 2024.

Ukraine exported pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulose materials worth $186 million in the same period, up by 19.1% YoY, and imported $594.3 million worth of it, down by 1.7% YoY.