Chinese Company Exports Illegal Timber Worth Millions from DRC Despite Ban: Report

The sprayed word "Illegal" is seen on tree trunks as Greenpeace activists demonstrate against the illegal importation of timber coming from Brazil and Congo. XAVIER LEOTY XAVIER LEOTY / AFP

Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development, a Chinese-owned timber company, exported $5 million worth of illegally logged timber in the first six months of 2023 alone, according to a new report by Global Witness. The NGO used satellite imagery to show that the company kept logging in the DRC despite the government revoking its logging rights in 2022.

The report shows that the company was allowed to keep exporting rare hardwood logs to its parent company, Wan Peng International, due to the DRC government’s lack of enforcement of its own decree. The company was originally stripped of logging rights because of disputes over the size of its consignment and non-payment of taxes.

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by Cobus van Staden

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