Thailand
Myanmar: Myanmar turns to timber exports to save forests
Myanmar: Myanmar turns to timber exports to save forests
Monday, 04 July 2016 – Long a timber-producing and exporting country, Myanmar will start importing wood to protect its forests while allowing local timber companies to continue operating, the government has decided. U Kyaw Zaw, director of the office of the minister for natural resources and environmental conservation, said, “A plan to permit the importation of raw timber from overseas has been approved.”
He said other countries in the Asia Pacific region were importing raw timber in order to conserve their own forest resources.
Myanmar stopped exporting timber logs in the 2014-15 financial year, and has temporarily banned logging in the current financial year as part of a plan to re-establish its forests. At the same time, sawmills and factories in Myanmar need raw timber. Myanma Timber Enterprise will continue to sell existing stocks of teak and hardwood during 2016-17 to meet the needs of local factories. Read More?