Active Energy Group to continue wood chip export after the ban for unprocessed wood export in Ukraine

Jul 10, 2015. /Lesprom Network/. Active Energy Group, international supplier of industrial wood chip for MDF manufacturing and biomass for energy (BFE) power generation, global forestry and natural resources development services, and biomass for energy (BFE) fuel solutions and systems, announces that it is aware of market speculation concerning the law passed by the Ukrainian parliament on 8 July 2015 banning the export of unprocessed wood from the country.

The new legislation stipulates a 10 year ban for ‘ unprocessed wood including raw wood, such as roundwood in the form of logs, poles etc .’ , which the company believes will have a positive impact on Active Energy Group (AEG)’s Ukrainian wood chip processing operations, company said in a statement. AEG is the largest producer and exporter of processed wood products (in the form of wood chip) in Ukraine, so the new law will not affect its operations.

In fact the company believes that it will serve to enhance its profile in the country, as it is intended to create new jobs within the wood processing industry , to conserve the country’s forestry assets, to prevent illegal logging, an d to increase export revenues.  It may also present new supply, logistics and shipping opportunities for AEG, which sources all of its raw timber , primarily waste wood and forestry thinnings, from the official Ukraine State Agency of Forestry Resources (SAFR).

Richard Spinks, CEO of Active Energy Group, commented:  “ My co-directors and I remain very confident in the long-term viability and continued success of the company’s Ukrainian wood chip operations - which reported revenues of US$17.395 million in 2014, an eleven-fold increase over the previous year.

” We are fully committed to continuing with our expansion plans to meet the greatly increased demand for our products from our Turkish MDF manufacturing customer base .” “Moreover, reports from the 'Association of Woodworking and Harvesting Enterprises of the Western Ukraine' state that 40% of the raw wood used at wood processing plants goes to waste, which could be utilised as raw material for Biomass for Energy (BFE) fuel pellet production; an industry sector which AEG has been actively exploring and on which we presented a public-private partnership proposal to the Ukraine government in May 2015.