Ukraine\u2019s state forestry authority is continuing to increase timber harvesting and supply in 2026 despite weakening domestic and European demand, creating growing oversupply pressure on the market and pushing timber inventories above 1.17 million m\u00b3.<\/p>\n
Since March, Forests of Ukraine has repeatedly relisted unsold timber lots at discounted prices in an attempt to reduce warehouse stocks, but the imbalance between supply and consumption remains significant. Around 55,000 m\u00b3 of timber are currently offered daily on the market, while estimated industrial consumption stands closer to 40,000 m\u00b3 per day.<\/p>\n
The oversupply comes as the company continues expanding harvest volumes despite wartime restrictions and the loss of access to parts of Ukraine\u2019s forest base.<\/p>\n
During the first four months of 2026, harvesting exceeded the same period last year by 632,000 m\u00b3, even though forestry operations remain disrupted in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, most of the Kharkiv region, and parts of the Sumy and Chernihiv regions.<\/p>\n
According to Forests of Ukraine, production levels have already surpassed pre-war output at former state forestry enterprises.<\/p>\n
A large share of the growing inventories consists of pine roundwood, where stocks increased by 273,000 m\u00b3. The increase highlights the scale of the current softwood surplus and the difficulty of selling standard pine grades on the domestic market.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian wood processors are struggling to absorb the additional volumes. The sector continues facing power outages, labour shortages, rising logistics costs and delays in raw material deliveries, while export-oriented producers are also dealing with weaker demand from the European Union.<\/p>\n
The slowdown in European wood markets has further reduced export opportunities for Ukrainian producers. Demand in parts of Europe remains weak due to sluggish construction activity, tariffs and the gradual implementation of the EUDR, limiting the market\u2019s ability to absorb additional Ukrainian timber volumes.<\/p>\n
Despite criticism from some larger producers regarding the role of foreign buyers in the market, Forests of Ukraine said it intends to maintain its policy of prioritising domestic supply, particularly firewood deliveries for households, public institutions and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the company plans to continue increasing timber supply. Volumes offered for Q3 2026 are expected to exceed last year\u2019s level by around 300,000 m\u00b3.<\/p>\n
Auction starting prices are expected to remain largely unchanged quarter-over-quarter apart from inflation-related adjustments agreed with industry participants.<\/p>\n
Forests of Ukraine is also considering changes to its sales strategy, including more detailed differentiation of logs by diameter class and reducing the share of timber sold through semi-annual contracts as market volatility increases.<\/p>\n
The main question for the coming months will be whether domestic processors and European buyers can absorb the growing Ukrainian timber volumes as regional lumber markets continue adjusting to the disappearance of Russian and Belarusian wood products from European supply chains following the sanctions introduced after 2022.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n