The war brought losses of almost 23 billion hryvnias in forestry and hunting

The Audit of the Accounting Chamber revealed losses in the amount of almost 23 billion hryvnias in forestry and hunting as a result of war, fires and illegal cutting down of forests. This was reported by the press service of the Accounting Chamber, pointing to the risks and problems in the industry that arose due to insufficient control over assets and insufficient work with compensation for losses.

In the period from 2020 to the first half of 2023, losses in the amount of 20.3 billion hryvnias were caused to the state from fires and 845.7 million hryvnias from illegal felling of trees. The situation is complicated by insufficient control over violators and a reduction in the number of foresters, which led to the failure to identify persons who caused damage in the amount of 731.0 million hryvnias.

The war also caused significant losses in forestry, estimated at 1.2 billion hryvnias as of July 2023. According to the head of the State Forestry Agency, Viktor Smalov, about one million hectares of forest are under the temporary control of the Russian occupiers, and 500,000 hectares of forest remain mined.

During the audit, it was found that 1.9 billion hryvnias were allocated from the state budget for the forestry sector, and forest users paid the state 16 billion hryvnias. Sales of timber products during this period amounted to 41.2 million cubic meters, of which 13.3 million cubic meters were the domestic market, and 11.3 million cubic meters were exported, mainly to Romania, China and Hungary.

The audit results also indicate certain positive developments in the industry. In particular, the profitability of the enterprises of the State Forestry Agency increased by five times, and the amount of equity capital of the enterprises increased by 30%. However, the auditors noted property management problems, which led to risks of asset loss.

According to the Accounting Chamber, the management of the State Forestry Agency was not effective enough in preventing violations and ensuring executive discipline. Such problems led to the loss of documents, which were restored only after the audit.