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After the sanctions on Russian timber came into force, Estonia began to actively import timber from countries where there are apparently no forests at all, thus the products of the Russian forestry industry reach Estonia through other countries<\/span>, reports the Estonian newspaper \"Postimees\".<\/p>\n The head of the Estonian Forestry and Wood Industry Association, Henrik Velija, said that although Russian plywood is no longer on the market due to sanctions, illegal Russian timber enters Estonia using a simple scheme, with documents stating that the timber comes from third countries.<\/p>\n Valery Rauam, Head of the Customs Department of the Department of Taxation and Customs, said that last year Estonia imported high quantities of HS code 44 goods consisting of timber, wood products and charcoal.<\/p>\n \"More than 90% of wood imports were imported in the first seven months, and the main country of origin of wood imports was Russia, from where more than 80% of wood was imported. In addition to Russia, wood was imported from 52 other countries, including the largest volume from Norway, Belarus, Brazil, China, Great Britain and the United States,\" Rauam said, explaining that imports fell sharply after that due to international sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus.<\/p>\n \"The largest import of timber from Russia was just before the total ban on imports during the transition period from March to July 2022, when imports were allowed on the basis of contracts concluded before April 9 or additional contracts. Since July 10, no timber from Russia imported,\" confirmed the Estonian customs representative.<\/p>\n Russia and Belarus have been replaced by other countries in Estonian timber import statistics. Imports have increased the most from Norway, Ukraine and Vietnam, and wood is also imported into Estonia from China, Brazil and the USA. For example, in March this year, imports from China were higher than all other imports combined.<\/p>\n At the same time, countries that have not previously offered such a group of goods have started exporting wood to Estonia. For example, in 2023, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Uzbekistan were added as countries of origin. According to the World Bank, 4.5% of the country's territory in the UAE is covered by forests. \"Since the end of the transition period, the import of wood from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan has increased. To make sure that there is no fraud regarding the countries of origin and that the goods really come from the declared countries, we carry out customs checks after the arrival of the goods and check whether the goods correspond to the declared ones,\" stated Tearful.<\/p>\n As he admitted, there have also been some violations regarding the origin of goods and the falsification of commodity codes. \"At the same time, there are cases when we have received confirmation from the country of origin that the origin of the goods is correct and that the goods have been exported from that country,\" Rauam said, adding that wood shipments are being checked not only from Kazakhstan, but also from Kyrgyzstan.<\/p>\n Estonia mainly receives firewood, including wood chip pellets, raw wood, namely sawn logs, chipboard and chipboard and sawn timber, the representative of Estonian customs listed.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After the sanctions on Russian timber came into force, Estonia began to actively import timber from countries where there are apparently no forests at all, thus the products of the Russian forestry industry reach Estonia through other countries, reports the … Continue reading