Ukraine could boost firewood exports to warm EU due to natural gas shortage, expert says – Business & Economy

KIEV, October 29. / TASS /. Kiev may soon increase its firewood exports to Europe to help the continent cope with its natural gas crisis, chief of Ukraine’s Center for Analysis and Strategy Igor Chalenko said on Friday.

“Firewood is undoubtedly an attractive raw material for exports, especially for the European Union market. In this heating season, they lack 70 billion cubic meters to cover their needs until the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is put into service, ”he added. an expert said at a press conference

Ukraine is among the top ten European states in terms of forest area, he said. “The EU understands this and regards firewood as an energy product,” Chalenko said.

Kiev may soon lift its ban on massive exports of timber, including roundwood, despite the dire situation of logging in western Ukraine, the expert argued.

“The lifting of the moratorium is a condition for Ukraine to receive a tranche of 600 million euros from the European Commission,” he said.

However, the resumption of raw timber exports will affect the Ukrainian timber processing industry, he said.

This fall, Ukrainian households experienced a shortage of firewood due to the dramatic rise in energy prices given the current scarcity of resources. The increased demand was triggered by soaring prices. As Chalenko said, firewood prices have soared 50-200% in the country.