In a column for Ekonomichna Pravda, Oleksii Semeniuk, chair of Ukraine’s National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, reviewed five years of exchange trading in timber and identified uniform trading rules in 2027 as a priority. Some timber remains outside the exchange mechanism, while differing rules for state, municipal and other forest users create unequal conditions for buyers. Common rules would cover all permanent forest users and forest owners, regardless of ownership, followed by a timber market law to enshrine those requirements. Draft timber market laws had already featured in the commission’s legislative work in June 2025.
Licensed commodity exchanges have organized timber sales since 2021. More than 7,000 buyers now participate, and over 90% of concluded contracts are fulfilled. Prices reflect demand and competition rather than being set by the regulator, which licenses exchanges, registers market operating rules and supervises compliance. Forward trading, introduced in 2024, allows wood processors to plan raw material purchases in advance. A participant rating system operating since 2026 helps assess the risk of unfulfilled obligations and determine collateral requirements before trading.