In face of Western sanctions, Myanmar exports teak to Asian countries

21 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 August 2023, Sittwe

India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand were among the buyers of teak from Myanmar in the first six months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, with the value of teak exports totalling US$14 million, according to the Forest Department.

More than 4,800 tonnes of teak were exported, said the department’s deputy director-general, Dr. Thaung Naing Oo. A total of 52 countries bought timber from Myanmar in the first six months of the 2023-24 fiscal, according to the Forest Department.

The export value of Myanmar teak and timber has declined due to sanctions from the United States and European nations in response to the February 2021 military coup.

“Europe and the US have stopped buying timber from Myanmar. Only Asian countries continue to buy from Myanmar,” said a timber exporter.

Previously, Western countries were the main buyer of timber from Myanmar, purchasing more than 60 percent of timber exports from Myanmar.

According to the Commerce Ministry, Myanmar earned US$154 million from timber exports in fiscal year 2019-20.

Timber trade volume has declined since the coup, with trade valued at US$128 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year, US$83 million in 2021-22, and US$139 million in 2022-23, according to the Commerce Ministry.

Illegal logging has increased since the putsch, say environmentalists. Political instability and armed conflicts across large swaths of the country make it difficult to control illegal logging, they add.

Myanmar’s military regime earned US$90.5 million from timber exports in the year after the coup, according to the conservation group Forest Trends.

Myanmar timber has historically been sought after, with its teak notably used by shipwrights in the building of luxury yachts. A total of 51 timber companies in Myanmar are involved in exports.