Sanctioned wood from Belarus, Russia enters UK – The Guardian
April 23, Pozirk. Sanctioned wood from Belarus and Russia is illegally entering the United Kingdom, The Guardian reported, citing new research by World Forest ID.
The non-profit was created in 2017 to ensure transparency in global forest-connected supply chains. The organization collects geographically-linked samples of wood and other plants from around the world. It subjects them to chemical and genetic analysis, creating unique markers for each species and growing region. Using this data, the organization develops AI-enabled spatial models that help determine the origin of the traded products.
According to The Guardian, experts found that 46 percent of birch samples labeled as products from Ukraine, Poland, Estonia and Latvia came from elsewhere. Based on the analysis, they identified Belarus and Russia as the only likely countries of origin.
“The UK has been a leader in sanctions and trade laws and certification schemes but they are only as good as the tools with which they are implemented,” said Jade Saunders, executive director of World Forest ID.
The article notes that birch is grown and processed commercially in much of Northern Europe, including large parts of Russia and Belarus. “After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it became illegal to import Russian and Belarusian plywood and timber products into Britain and other European countries due to sanctions,” it says.
The researchers had no admission to the names of the companies, which provided the samples discreetly.
The Guardian notes that the exports of Russian birch to European countries, including the UK, have fallen sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, but deliveries from other countries, including Kazakhstan and Turkey, have increased dramatically. It cites UN trade statistics, according to which Kazakhstan increased plywood exports from 600 tons in 2021 to 25,600 tons in 2022.
The paper also cites an investigation by the environmental organization Earthsight confirming the conclusion of World Forest ID: Belarusian plywood is being shipped to the EU and the UK.
Media reported earlier that Earthsight conducted an investigation and concluded that the Russian military directly controls some forest areas, profiting from logging. In Belarus, slave labor of political prisoners is reportedly used to process wood.
Plywood from Belarus and Russia is registered as products manufactured in other countries, such as China, Kazakhstan or Turkey, to be sent to the European market. The largest importers are Poland, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. According to the researchers, 22 containers with sanctioned goods are imported to the EU every day.
The analysts said that in Europe, some furniture, parquet, sports equipment and toys were made from Russian and Belarusian plywood.
On March 2, 2022, a package of EU sanctions was adopted against Minsk. Among other things, it banned the export of wood products, such as lumber, briquettes, fuel pellets, plywood and wood boards.
 
                        Official says wood industry recovered from sanctions
- PoliticsMinsk restricts Lithuanian trucks to checkpoints closed by VilniusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsInterior ministry brands 26 as extremistsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka eyes "grand bargain" with Washington based on his interestsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsMinsk hints it may keep border crossings to Lithuania, Poland closedThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka accuses Poland of violating a deal on Poczobut's releaseThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityZelensky: Russia's Oreshnik missiles in Belarus to threaten EuropeThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka claims journalist Pratasievič was a Minsk spy during arrest in 2021The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- SocietyFour workers injured in explosion at Biełaruskalij’s shopThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Society
- Economy
- Economy, Politics, SecurityLithuania recovers three balloons after Vilnius Airport emergency closureThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus ranks low on Rule of Law IndexThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityThree Belarusians among 1,292 deserters listed by UkraineThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityMigrant activity at Belarus-EU border jumps 43 percent year on year in OctoberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: Online censorship, disclosure of sentencesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyVilnius Airport suspends operations for three hours over balloon incursionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus' top diplomat says Minsk ready to back North Korea internationallyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, Politics, Security
- EconomyBelarus supplied 2,000 tractors to Nigeria – deputy PMThe material is available only to POZIRK+



