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- Jan 26, 2024
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A new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and media partners around the world exposed how Western governments have failed to stop the widely condemned trade of teak from Myanmar, a precious natural resource whose international market props up the military regime in the South Asian country.
The Deforestation Inc. investigation by ICIJ and its 39 partners found that timber traders in three continents have continued to import Myanmar teak by the ton to supply shipbuilders and furniture manufacturers around the world, while consumers may be unwittingly financing the junta’s repressive campaign.
The reporters visited boat shows in Fort Lauderdale, Amsterdam and Paris to learn about the international teak market. They interviewed timber traders in 11 countries and pored over documents leaked from Myanmar’s tax agency and shared with ICIJ by Justice for Myanmar, a human rights group, U.K.-based news outlet Finance Uncovered and Distributed Denial of Secrets, a data transparency group.
Myanmar teak is prized by luxury yacht and high-end furniture makers worldwide. The wood is so dense and weather-resistant that some call it the “king of woods.”
In February 2021, Myanmar military forces seized power overthrowing a democratically elected government. Since then, generals control major ministries and entire economic sectors in Myanmar, including the forestry industry.
In response to the coup, in 2021, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on the timber state monopoly. As early as 2017, EU regulators began recommending member states to stop importing timber from Myanmar over concerns of corruption and illegal logging.
Since then, teak imports to Turkey have “skyrocketed” suggesting that the country is becoming a key hub for the local shipbuilding industry but also for foreign buyers whose government laws restrict Myanmar teak imports, according to ICIJ’s Turkish partners, Deutsche Welle (DW).
A Turkish teak importer, who spoke to DW on condition of anonymity, said Italian companies had approached him requesting to edit legal documents, changing the origin of the teak and selling them the Myanmar products as though they were from other countries.
“Italian companies are very aggressive on this issue,” he said. Trade data analyzed by DW show that, in 2022, Turkey exported about $530,000 worth of teak to Italy.
The Deforestation Inc. investigation by ICIJ and its 39 partners found that timber traders in three continents have continued to import Myanmar teak by the ton to supply shipbuilders and furniture manufacturers around the world, while consumers may be unwittingly financing the junta’s repressive campaign.
The reporters visited boat shows in Fort Lauderdale, Amsterdam and Paris to learn about the international teak market. They interviewed timber traders in 11 countries and pored over documents leaked from Myanmar’s tax agency and shared with ICIJ by Justice for Myanmar, a human rights group, U.K.-based news outlet Finance Uncovered and Distributed Denial of Secrets, a data transparency group.
Myanmar teak is prized by luxury yacht and high-end furniture makers worldwide. The wood is so dense and weather-resistant that some call it the “king of woods.”
In February 2021, Myanmar military forces seized power overthrowing a democratically elected government. Since then, generals control major ministries and entire economic sectors in Myanmar, including the forestry industry.
In response to the coup, in 2021, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on the timber state monopoly. As early as 2017, EU regulators began recommending member states to stop importing timber from Myanmar over concerns of corruption and illegal logging.
Turkey
In mid 2021, the U.S. and the EU imposed sanctions on Myanma Timber Enterprise, the Myanmar state monopoly in charge of harvesting timber and auctioning it off to smaller traders.Since then, teak imports to Turkey have “skyrocketed” suggesting that the country is becoming a key hub for the local shipbuilding industry but also for foreign buyers whose government laws restrict Myanmar teak imports, according to ICIJ’s Turkish partners, Deutsche Welle (DW).
A Turkish teak importer, who spoke to DW on condition of anonymity, said Italian companies had approached him requesting to edit legal documents, changing the origin of the teak and selling them the Myanmar products as though they were from other countries.
“Italian companies are very aggressive on this issue,” he said. Trade data analyzed by DW show that, in 2022, Turkey exported about $530,000 worth of teak to Italy.
