Boosting wood exports from Ukraine

Within the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP) in Ukraine, an in-depth value chain study on the wood sector was conducted as part of the project aiming at “Realizing export potential of the wood and processed wood value chain in Ukraine by strengthening related quality infrastructure”.

The value chain study highlighted the relevance of two priority sub-sectors within the wood industry, namely wooden windows and children’s furniture, based on their domestic and international market potential. To unleash this potential, compliance with market requirements is a must. The interventions of the project will therefore further focus on strengthening quality infrastructure and compliance capacity of national institutions and key actors to comply with market requirements, engage in cross-border trade and reap the benefits of globalization to boost the prosperity of their industrial sector.

The study, which was developed closely with the Bern University of Applied Science (BFH) in a broad consultative process, including national and international, as well as public and private stakeholders. Overall, 61 interviews were conducted with Quality Infrastructure institutions, sector associations, technical committees, education and research institutions, various service providers and other actors such as import and export promotion agencies, consultants and buyers in the European Union. In addition, an extensive desk research was done including data collection, analysis and crosschecking with the results from the interviews and discussions.

The project is part of the Global Quality and Standards Programme’s (GQSP) innovative approach developed by UNIDO and Switzerland through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to strengthen the quality and standards compliance capacity in selected value chains of partner countries to facilitate market access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Read the publication here.

Read the news article by Bern University of Applied Sciences here.