The State Fiscal Service (SFS) has opened 39 cases of illegal timber transportation for UAH 35 million in the first half of 2018, the agency reported on its website on Monday.

"Over 1 million tonnes of fuel wood were exported last year. Nearly 660,000 tonnes of fuel wood were exported to the EU countries from the beginning of the year, while state enterprises - forestry enterprises export more than 90% of this commodity," the SFS press service quoted deputy head of the department Viktor Kryvytsky as saying.

According to the report, 163 cases on violation of customs regulations for the amount of UAH 20 million were initiated summarizing the results of last year.

The SFS specifies that the sale abroad of Ukraine in the customs regime for the export of timber and lumber made of them is allowed in the presence of a certificate of origin. And therefore, the main risk in the export of timber is inaccurate cargo manifests in such a certificate. Therefore, the SFS supports the creation of a single information system on the turnover of timber, which should replace the paper certification system, the report says.