Every year, illegal logging sees Mozambique lose out on tens of millions of dollars in taxes (US$30 million alone in 2012). In fact, a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) shows that in 2013, 93% of all the logging taking place in the Southern African country was illegal.
Most of the wood is smuggled into China. In 2014, this trade was valued at US$400 million, up from US$90 million in 2009. The EIA has forecast that Mozambique’s commercial timber stocks will be depleted within the next 15 years, prompting the country to place a ban on the export of whole logs, regardless of the species, as of 2017.
According to AFKInsider, the ban aims to stop illegal logging while also encouraging local processing and development of a sustainable timber market.
