The Lao government will go to greater lengths to control the timber trade and prevent revenue loss through the illegal export of timber, according to the website of the Chinese Embassy in Laos'Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office on Wednesday.
The Lao government has warned that companies are forbidden from buying rare timber from Lao citizens. Unfinished wood products such as logs, timber, sawn timber, tree roots, semi-finished wood products and ornamental plants are not permitted to be exported.
Authorities have also warned that harsh punishments will be issued to government officials involved in the illegal logging and timber trade including those involved in illegal customs clearance for timber goods. Strict punishment will be applied to traders both domestic and international who fail to respect and comply with local regulations.
The Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office advises that Chinese companies involved in timber trade and business with Laos should carefully adhere to local laws.
In 2013, the illegal timber trade accounted for 46 percent of economic-related crimes or some 257 individual cases, according to figures released by the Lao Ministry of Public Security.
Officers seized 20 vehicles, 671,000 cubic meters of processed wood, 4.5 million cubic meters of logs and 15 chain saws from the cases.
Laos used to have one of the highest percentage of forest coverage globally. In 1940, approximately 70 percent of the country's land was covered in forest. By 1992, the percentage of forest coverage had fallen to 47 percent then further to 40 percent by 2010./.