Myanmar to suspend wood log export in 2014

Myanmar will suspend its wood log export in 2014 in a bid to eradicate wood log smuggling and conserve forest, China's Xinhua news agency said citing local media's report today.

The suspension will be effective from April of the year, reported the 7-Day News, quoting an announcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Myanmar exported teak mostly to neighbouring India and China at a rate of 1.6 million tonnes annually, earning US$522 million, the London-based Environment Investigation Agency was cited as saying.

According to the agency, Myanmar exported 18 million cubic metres of wood log in a decade from 2000 to 2010, gaining US$5.7 billion.

There are over 16.32 million hectares of forest reserve area, of which teak plantations cover 24,300 hectares while hardwood area 324,000 hectares, according to statistics.

The forest area accounts for nearly half the country's total area of 67.6 million hectares.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is able to produce nearly 283,000 cubic metres of teak and 1.98 million cubic metres of hardwood annually.

A major exporter of teak in the world, Myanmar takes up 75 percent of the world market.

Myanmar exports teak mostly to India, followed by China, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia.