The timber industry suspects “conflict timber” harvested in Russia and Belarus is being sold in Australia under false country-of-origin labels. Source: The Australian
Australia has not banned timber imports from Russia and Belarus, but the Australian Border Force has imposed a 35% tariff on their wood products following the designation last March by the two major international certification bodies that any wood from the region was considered conflict timber and its sustainability credentials unverified.
Timber Queensland has called on the federal government to crack down on imports to ensure labels match the country of origin.
Federal regulations state importers must take steps to verify that timber from conflict zones has not been illegally sourced.
The industry says Russian beech is being blended into plywood in China and shipped to Australia where its origin is obscured.
The Australian Timber Importers Federation has raised the concerns in a statement to its members.
“Evidence suggests that increasing volumes of logs are currently being exported from Russia into China and then exported to other countries then manufactured into timber products,” the statement said.
Analysis of import data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows imports of plywood and engineered wood products from Russia fell drastically following the start of the war, while the value of imports from China rose significantly.
“The illegal logging laws require due diligence from importers which in the current environment would effectively preclude most wood from Russia, given the high risks of being illegally obtained,” Timber Queensland chief executive Mick Stephens said.
“These risks include armed conflict in the region, a history of poor environmental compliance and crime and corruption.
“A lot of Russian fibre is also incorporated into further manufactured products in other countries as part of global supply chains, which can make it difficult to detect.”
Mr Stephens said the government needed more targeted compliance action at the border.
“In the absence of serious monitoring by the regulator and education of the risks involved, there is likely to be illegal wood in our market,” he said.
There have been reports of traders sneaking banned Russian and Belarusian timber into the EU by claiming their exports were from Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, about 60 per cent of Australia’s laminated veneer lumber, used in building, came from Russia.
In the first quarter of 2022, the veneer lumber imports from Russia into Australia were valued at $17.5m, according to ABS data. That fell to $3.5m in the third quarter, while such imports from China rose from $4.5m to $31m.
Brisbane producer Austral Plywoods, which sources all its timber from local plantations, says Australian producers are at a disadvantage by the lack of certification.
“The Australian government took the soft position on Russia by implementing a 35 per cent tariff while the EU and UK governments enforced a total import ban on Russian wood products,” Austral co-chief executive Scott Matthews said.
“On one hand Australia is supplying 90 Bushmasters to Ukraine while on the other we are helping fund Russia’s war machine by going soft on Russian timber imports”.
Co-CEO Stuart Matthews said some importers were “paying lip service to Australia’s illegal logging regulations”.
“Alternative pathways through other countries such as China must also be scrutinised, so that illegal timber cannot be easily laundered,” he said.
Forestry Minister Murray Watt has agreed to pursue reform to illegal logging legislation, potentially including added timber testing powers.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said it is “well aware of the heightened risk of ‘conflict timber’ from Russia and Belarus” and had allocated $4.4m to trial emerging timber testing technologies.
“The department has issued advice to entities regulated under Australia’s illegal logging laws to exercise high caution when considering importing timber from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, due to increased risk it may have been illegally logged,” a department spokesperson said.
