Russia and Belarus are ramping up timber exports to Uzbekistan amid fears the former soviet state could act as a new trading post for conflict timber entering global timber supply chains.
It comes as Uzbekistan is spending billions on new rail, road and sea infrastructure, funded by China’s Belt and Road Initiative, forging new pathways for timber to infiltrate global supply chains.
Already, Uzbekistan is Russia’s second-largest importer of softwoods, with 480,000 cubic metres of timber (or 11% of its total imports) imported into the country every quarter – in what is a significant escalation in trade since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It comes as Wood Central reported in July that a block of ten countries – including Uzbekistan as well as China, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan – is fueling a booming trade of conflict timber bypassing western sanctions.
Not long after imposing sanctions on wood imports from Russia and Belarus, Europe saw an influx of wood supposedly coming from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Authorities say sanctions-busters are increasingly mislabeling wood as Central Asian so they can keep bringing it in to the EU.
Key findings:
Traders are evading European Union sanctions on Russian and Belarussian wood by declaring that it really comes from Central Asia.
Customs in Lithuania and Latvia are scrambling to keep up with the sudden influx of timber with suspect paperwork from Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan.
Reporters found several Kyrgyz and Belarusian companies that offered false paperwork so traders could ship banned Belarusian wood to the EU.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 5. Kyrgyzstan has imposed temporary restrictions on timber exports, Trend reports citing the press service of Cabinet of Ministers.
According to the Cabinet Decree No. 428 from August 1, 2022, timber exports from Kyrgyzstan outside the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are now restricted for a period of six months.
“A temporary ban is introduced after three days from the date of entry into force of this resolution,” the message says.
Click here to access the Global Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (ILAT) Risk assessment tool and to download the Forest Trends User Guide describing the functionality of the ILAT Risk Data Tool.
Click here to access the Cattle Data Tool.