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Timber Export Points Reduced by 80%
The Federal Customs Service yesterday reduced the number of customs checkpoints that will process unfinished timber exports from 668 to 128 with proper technology for assessing timber cargo. Kindling, sawdust, milling byproducts, pulp and other rough forms of wood are subject to the new procedure as well. Finished wood products will be handled as before. The new measure is intended to reduce illegal logging in Russia. The Ministry of Natural Resources reports that 7 million cu. m. of wood was cut illegally in the Russian Far East last year and annual illegal logging throughout the country tops 21 million cu. m. annually.
Legal logging in Russia last year amounted to 180-190 million cu. m. Russian Minister of Natural Resources Yury Trutnev stated that “a whole criminal sector” has sprung up in the forest industry in the border regions of the Russian Far East “in which representatives of all supervisory and law enforcement agencies participate.” Export points for timber were reduced from 600 to 421 in Siberia in 2006. In 2007, 120 criminal cases were initiated by customs authorities involving timber and more than 4 million cu. m. of wood material was confiscated.
Observers say that, while the new measure will reduce opportunities for illegal timber exports, it creates opportunities for greater official corruption, which may negate its benefits. Also, it will cause delays in shipping as lines form a customs checkpoints. Observers suggest that registering timber exports would be more effective in fighting criminal activities.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 13, 2008
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