Teakwood Going To China Despite Rangoon

Teakwood Going To China Despite Rangoon's Restrictions

Making a mock of Rangoon's announced restrictions on exporting timber outside its seaports two years ago, all varieties of hardwood from the Shan State have been entering China on the average of 500 tons per day, according to a Shan businessman from the north. 

"The ban by Rangoon has inadvertently enriched its local commanders and officials in northern Shan State," he said. "Export permits for teakwood can be bought from Gen. Tin Aung Myint Oo, Commander of the Northeastern Command, in Lashio for K. 100,000 per ton. For other hardwood, it's K. 60,000 and the rest K. 20,000." 

They also have to pay MI (Military Intelligence) 9 in Lashio for a logging permit allowing them to ignore the local forestry officials, he said. 

"The biggest teak forests are found south of the Mandalay-Hsipaw railroad and east of the Hsipaw-Mongkung motor road, known as the Zawgyi-Namtu basin," he said, "And the biggest logging company is the Mongkung militia force led by Kanna." 

The journey from Shan State to China begins at Namlan, a town south of Hsipaw, where all felled timber, both processed and unprocessed, is assembled. 

1 ten-wheeler carries 20 tons of logs or 25 tons of processed wood. "It fetches K. 3.5 million once it arrives in Chinese territory, but because of multiple payments along the way, only K. 300,000 at the most remains for the timber merchant,' he said. 

The result of this frenzied cutting and selling of wood is that the river Zawgyi has become so shallow that even the dam, opened two years ago by Gen. Maung Aye, Vice Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, could not fill up even during the rainy season, an environmentalist told S.H.A.N.. 

"In the end, it doesn't make any difference whether the junta refuses to exchange the improvement of roads for teakwood with China," she said. "By the time it agrees to Chinese terms, there'll be no more teak trees with which to barter." 

Related report: 4 - 13, China Offering To Upgrade Strategic World War II Road in Exchange For Teak, 27 April 2000.