Over the past month, auctions on the Ukrainian Energy Exchange for untreated timber showed the following results:
- the volume offered amounted to 194.95 thousand cubic meters;
- 180.14 thousand cubic meters of timber were sold;
- the sale price of timber amounted to UAH 943.02 million (including VAT);
- forest agencies received additional income during English auctions in the amount of UAH 298.70 million (including VAT).
The distribution of untrrated timber sales was as follows: 69% round timber, 31% firewood.
Unprocessed timber was sold last month in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, and other regions.
Round timber
During the reporting period, 123.56 thousand cubic meters of round timber were sold for a total amount of UAH 804.74 million (including VAT).
Pine, oak, and spruce were the most sold, accounting for 83.75%, 6.58%, and 5.91% of total sales, respectively. Other species sold included ash, aspen, fir, beech, hornbeam, and others.
On average, the increase from the starting price at English auctions was 32%. Considering that the auction increment is 1%, the highest average was for sharp-leaved maple – 115, linden – 89, and ash – 78.
Firewood
During the reporting period, sales of firewood amounted to 56.58 thousand cubic meters worth UAH 138.28 million (including VAT).
The vast majority of firewood (98%) was sold for industrial use, while 2% was sold for non-industrial use.
Among firewood, pine wood was in the highest demand, accounting for 49% of the total volume.
The chart below shows the structure of firewood sales by assortment and species.
Price indices
Compared to the previous month, most indices for round timber showed growth.
The largest increase in value was recorded for oak, which currently costs 39,011.98 UAH including VAT. This is due to quarterly auctions, which have stimulated demand and intensified competition among buyers.
The opposite trend was observed for alder wood, whose price fell to 5,409.29 UAH per cubic meter, including VAT.
Index of weighted average prices for timber, August 2025
| Species | UAH/cubic meter (including VAT) |
|---|---|
| Silver birch | 6,003.24 |
| Forest beech | 4,577.21 |
| Black alder | 5,409.29 |
| Common oak | 39,011.98 |
| Common pine | 5,533.18 |
| European spruce | 4,565.73 |
| White fir | 4,942.91 |
| Common ash | 8 764.02 |
In the firewood segment, the largest changes were recorded for non-industrial products in the third group, whose price index reached UAH 1,494.97 per cubic meter, including VAT.
In contrast, wood in the second group showed the most significant decline in price, falling to 990.00 UAH per cubic meter including VAT amid reduced demand.
Index of weighted average prices for firewood, August 2025
| Assortment | UAH/cubic meter (including VAT) |
|---|---|
| Industrial usage | 2 460,95 |
| Non-industrial usage 1-st group | 1 808,05 |
| Non-industrial usage 2-nd group | 990,00 |
| Non-industrial usage 3-rd group | 1 494,97 |
Overview of the timber market in Europe
High timber prices in Europe are putting pressure on sawmills, reducing their profitability
In France, prices for coniferous logs reached record highs at the end of August, while sales of sawn timber slowed, widening the gap between costs and revenues.
In Finland, the average price of spruce logs in June was around €86/m³. Despite a slight decline in the summer, the cost remains historically high and is putting pressure on profitability ahead of the fall.
In Germany, prices for round timber, particularly spruce logs (€112–118/m³), rose sharply due to a shortage of raw materials caused by a reduction in the volume of damaged wood. This forced sawmills to increase their offers to forest owners and partially reorient their production towards exports to the US amid weaker demand in Europe.
In Austria, high-quality spruce raw materials were sold in the range of €110–120/m³ in May–July. Steady demand and weather risks are keeping prices high.
In Sweden, nine out of ten sawmills are operating at a loss: the decline in the cost of balance wood only partially offset the previous rise in log prices and stagnation in sawn timber prices.
In Norway, log prices reached historic highs at the beginning of the year. Although there has been a subsequent easing, they are still well above pre-2024 levels.
In the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia), prices remain consistently high due to strong demand and limited supply. This puts pressure on local sawmills, which operate in difficult conditions.
In Poland, state forests have announced a reduction in log sales of 2 million m³ in 2025, heightening industry concerns about raw material shortages and financial risks.
Overall, there’s still a bit of a mess in Europe: high log prices and weaker lumber prices are making sawmills vulnerable. Only a local easing in Finland and Norway is giving some relief, while the overall market is still under a lot of pressure.
Market sentiment in the Swedish sawn timber sector weakens after summer slump
The Swedish sawn timber market weakened due to low demand, high production costs, and uncertainty. After a spring upturn, prices fell in the summer, while the cost of wood remained high. The situation is most difficult in the southern regions, where sawmills are operating at a loss due to the difference in raw material prices compared to the north.
The pressure is exacerbated by falling revenues from by-products and the risk of new trade restrictions in the US. At the same time, the balance on the global market is partly supported by reduced production in other countries, and the revival of construction projects in Central and Southern Europe offers some hope.
German industry is increasingly vocal in its opposition to the EU law on combating deforestation
In Germany, resistance to the EU Regulation on combating deforestation (EUDR) is growing. Industry associations believe that the document imposes excessive bureaucracy and unrealistic requirements.
The Wooden Packaging and Packaging Association (HPE), which brings together more than 420 companies, has called on the Minister of Agriculture to suspend the EUDR, emphasizing the regulation’s disconnect from business realities and the significant costs to businesses. It stresses that countries without a risk of deforestation, such as Germany, should not be subject to the same rules.
The VDMA engineering industry association (3,600 companies in Europe) has called the regulation “bureaucratic madness” and is demanding a two-year postponement. The organization warns that ensuring product traceability at the site level in global supply chains is technically impossible, which could lead to supply disruptions.
The new rules are set to come into effect for large companies on December 30, 2025, and for small and medium-sized businesses on June 30, 2026. Business associations warn that without changes, the regulations will reduce the competitiveness of European companies, exacerbate staff shortages, and create duplicate systems that will not help the environment.
Wood imports to the UK declined slightly in the first half of the year. Prices for coniferous wood imports rose
In the first half of 2025, timber imports to the UK fell by almost 3%, mainly due to weaker demand in the second quarter. Supplies of softwood, especially from Sweden, fell the most, while Latvia and Finland partially offset the decline. At the same time, engineered wood showed steady growth, and in the price segment, conifers rose in price by 11% (red pine +26%), while white pine fell in price by 5%.