Exactly one year after military leaders seized power in Gabon and named head of the presidential guard Brice Oligui Nguema as their leader, the junta has relaxed key logging rules that protect a highly trafficked hardwood used by Chinese manufacturers to make tables and guitars – for European, the United States and further afield.
That is according to Reuters, which reports that the kevazingo tree, which can take up to 500 years to grow 40 metres, will now be permitted after Gabon leaders reversed a 2018 decision banned cutting amid concerns that the highly valuable tree was being trafficked in huge uncontrolled quantities.
According to a statement provided by the Gabon Council of Ministers on Saturday, logging will be permitted in “sustainably managed concessions” as long as it’s supported by geo-referencing and a CITES permit:
The reversal came after Gabon’s last elected president, Ali Bongo, succeeded his father in 2009 and banned the export of raw wood and expanded protected areas. Gabon has been a productive hub for timber poachers, illegal logging and the illicit wildlife trade – with President Bongo firing his former Vice President, as well as Forestry Minister (in 2019) when more than 300 containers of kevazingo cargo went missing.
Gabon’s forest economy
Last year, Wood Central revealed that Gabon is a major regional player in processed forest exports. With over 88% of the country covered in a tropical rainforest, Gabon’s second-highest export is now timber.
According to former Minister of Forests Lee White, Gabon is the second most forested country on earth by forest area. The country manufactures and exports thinly sliced veneer overproduced wood to give furniture, cabinets, and flooring a polished look.
According to the UK-based Timber Trade Portal, over 40% of timber product exports end up in China, with 30% of processed exports ending up in the EU. In recent years, Gabon has substituted European trading partners with China – making the country one of Africa’s most important destinations for the Chinese forestry sector.
In a 2021 report, Forest Trends reported that “timber sourced from Gabon is used in Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian-manufactured products that are likely entering European and US markets.”
Pre-Covid, Gabon produced 801,000 cubic metres of sawn wood (82% for export), 271,000 cubic metres of veneer (47% for export), 64,000 cubic metres of plywood (50% for export) and 2,320 cubic metres of logs (less than 2% for export).
EUDR sparks furniture crisis leaving 50% of imports at risk!
In July, Wood Central reported that 40% of Europe’s total imports of timber furniture come from China, with a significant portion of the raw wood used for the merchandise coming from faraway places like Gabon.
As it stands, timber furniture is one of the industries at greatest risk from EUDR, with environmental groups warning that imports from war-torn Ukraine (Europe’s third largest furniture market) are also “high risk” as per the EUDR’s terms and definitions.
It comes after Wood Central last week revealed that China—responsible for more than 40% of Europe’s total timber furniture market—is now threatening to leave European markets over “security concerns” with geolocational data.
As per the most recent data obtained by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics bureau, more than 77,000 tonnes of furniture imported by the EU (for April) came from China, followed by Ukraine – 22,200 tonnes, Turkey – 17,000 tonnes, Vietnam – 11,600 tonnes and Indonesia – 8,100 tonnes.
- To learn more about the impact of the Gabon coup on the global supply of timber products, visit Wood Central’s special feature.