Logging in Belarus Increased 4-5 Times

Recently, Belarusians have been posting a lot of photos of the felled forest on social networks.

There are also photographs of platforms with round timber, which are delivered somewhere by rail. All this serves as a basis for conjectures that, against the background of a serious budget deficit, the Belarusian authorities are increasing the felling and export of timber, euroradio.fm reports.

This is how Dzmitry Hrummo, the deputy director for scientific work of the Institute of Experimental Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, candidate of biological sciences, comments on the situation:

- Forest felling in our country is carried out according to the annually approved annual allowable cut. In the early 2000s, we cut about 3.5 million cubic meters a year, and now 15-18 million annually, - the scientist writes.

Concern Bellesbumprom reported that, in the first quarter of 2021, exports increased by 19.9%. The press service of the concern reports that the largest growth was given by wood-based panels, furniture, cellulose, plywood, paper, and cardboard. However, Bellesbumprom also produces “round timber” - the same round timber that is written about in social networks.

"Round timber" is among the products of the concern Bellesbumprom / bellesbumprom.by

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Forestry asserts that there is no "unprecedented felling" of forests in Belarus. They are outraged that, for a whole week, “people did nothing but discuss forestry on telegram channels and individual Internet sites.”

However, he agrees to inform about what estimated cutting area is set in Belarus for 2021 only in response to an official request.