Belarusian timber continues to find its way into Lithuania and other EU nations, bypassing existing Western sanctions against Minsk, as revealed by a recent investigation.
A joint study by the Belarusian Investigative Center and the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza discovered a significant surge in official timber exports from Kazakhstan to Poland. The figures soared from EUR 14 million to nearly EUR 68 million last year alone.
Stanislau Ivashkevich, head of the Belarusian Investigative Center, disclosed to LRT RADIO on Tuesday, “We can see that more than 120 million euros worth of timber is entering the European Union through Poland. Some of it arrives in Lithuania. The timber enters Poland, is checked at the border, and then goes on to Lithuania via the territory of the European Union, where there are no controls.”
“Despite blocking the import of suspicious timber and by implementing the sanctions more effectively, Lithuania itself still receives such timber through the back door,” Ivashkevich emphasized.
Although Belarusian timber exports to the EU have dwindled significantly post-sanctions, Ivashkevich noted that Belarusian timber is being routed through Kazakhstan with falsified documentation.
“A timber hauler from Belarus told us directly over the phone that the timber came from Belarus, not Kazakhstan,” Ivashkevich revealed.
“Kazakhstan doesn’t have a lot of forest. It’s a big country, but forests cover only 4% of its territory. Kazakhstan imports timber, and the 4–5% of forests they have are steppe trees, half of which are not very suitable for industrial woodworking,” Ivashkevich elaborated.
This investigation echoes findings from a previous inquiry in 2022, which exposed the transit of Belarusian timber through Kyrgyzstan into the EU.
“When we found out that Belarusian timber could be supplied to the EU as coming from Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania blocked imports of timber from Kyrgyzstan. That is where the good news ended. We continue to see strong growth of timber movement to the European Union from Kazakhstan,” Ivashkevich remarked.
Stanislau Ivashkevich, head of the Belarusian Investigative Center, disclosed to LRT RADIO on Tuesday, “We can see that more than 120 million euros worth of timber is entering the European Union through Poland. Some of it arrives in Lithuania. The timber enters Poland, is checked at the border, and then goes on to Lithuania via the territory of the European Union, where there are no controls.”
“Despite blocking the import of suspicious timber and by implementing the sanctions more effectively, Lithuania itself still receives such timber through the back door,” Ivashkevich emphasized.
Although Belarusian timber exports to the EU have dwindled significantly post-sanctions, Ivashkevich noted that Belarusian timber is being routed through Kazakhstan with falsified documentation.
“A timber hauler from Belarus told us directly over the phone that the timber came from Belarus, not Kazakhstan,” Ivashkevich revealed.
“Kazakhstan doesn’t have a lot of forest. It’s a big country, but forests cover only 4% of its territory. Kazakhstan imports timber, and the 4–5% of forests they have are steppe trees, half of which are not very suitable for industrial woodworking,” Ivashkevich elaborated.
This investigation echoes findings from a previous inquiry in 2022, which exposed the transit of Belarusian timber through Kyrgyzstan into the EU.
“When we found out that Belarusian timber could be supplied to the EU as coming from Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania blocked imports of timber from Kyrgyzstan. That is where the good news ended. We continue to see strong growth of timber movement to the European Union from Kazakhstan,” Ivashkevich remarked.
Source: LRT
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