Country has received around a thousand lorries of ‘blood-stained birch’, violating EU sanctions
An investigation by a British NGO has revealed a scheme to launder Russian timber into the EU, in violation of sanctions, which is worth more than €100 million to Portugal alone.
According to Earthsite, the illegal trade is valued at €1.5 billion, with Portugal having already received around a thousand lorries of illegal birch plywood.
Portugal is only a small cog in this massive wheel spanning the “entire EU” – but the bottom line of this trade which has been violating sanctions for years is that it is feeding directly into Russia’s war machine, and EU head honchos know all about it.
At a point where Poland is in charge of the rotating Presidency of the European Union, Earthsite is appealing to the country “to end this blood stained trade once and for all”.
According to Earthsite, European companies that manufacture toys, flooring and furniture – as well as the world’s largest manufacturer of climbing walls – have been identified as having bought birch wood from exporters, who admit to trading in this illegal wood, but deny they have committed any offences.
Dubbed ‘Blood-stained birch: exposing the EU’s trade in conflict ply’, the investigation caught companies, through cameras, voice calls and internal documents, organising a constant flow of Russian wood to the EU for ’important manufacturers’.
Earthsight estimates that more than 500,000 cubic metres of wood have left Russia via third countries before entering the EU since sanctions were imposed in July 2022.
Of these, more than 30,000 cubic metres of wood, the equivalent of 990 lorries, arrived in Portugal, with a retail value of €103.1 million euros.
Every day, the equivalent of 20 large lorries of wood (700 cubic metres) arrive at EU ports and borders. The largest volumes are sent to Poland, followed by Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Estonia, says the NGO – specifying that among the Russian exporters who continue to supply birch to the EU are oligarchs Alexei Mordashov and Vladimir Yevtushenkov (two men who allegedly met with Russian president Valdimir Putin on the day Ukraine was invaded).
Belarusian state companies are also allegedly helping in the trade.
Russian companies have told investigators that they launder the wood through countries such as Kazakhstan and Turkey, although most of the wood passes through China.
And the devastating truth is that companies linked to the illegal plywood display the ‘FSC certificate’ – standing for Forest Stewardship Council, because it is meant to be ‘green’/ ethically sourced.
In other words, authorities know what is going on, and appear to be turning a completely blind eye.
As Earthsite stresses, its investigators have been sharing their findings about this illegal trade for years “without much response”. Thus, the call now to Poland – one of Ukraine’s closest and staunchest allies – for ‘greater leadership’.
Chinese company is biggest smuggler of birch plywood
‘Tianma Lvjian’ is the Chinese company labelled the biggest smuggler of birch plywood. According to Earthsite, it offered to label bleached Russian plywood with an FSC stamp, at an additional cost of €50 euros per cubic metre.
“The fact that so many companies are involved in smuggling illegal timber while holding FSC certificates underlines wider structural flaws within the FSC,” the investigation warns.
It also sheds further harsh light on the nuances at play when European leaders assure Ukraine they will support it “for as long as it takes”.
Source material: SIC Notícias/ LUSA
