A recent Environmental Investigation Agency report uncovered rampant corruption surrounding Mozambique's lumber trade.
The 1999 Forest and Wildlife Law requires Mozambique's 22 first-class species to be processed inside the country before export; they cannot leave the country in log form. This policy is intended to keep money and jobs within the world's fourth-poorest nation while generating more revenue when the products are exported. But the EIA estimates between $22 and $29 million in tax revenue was lost during 2012 from unlicensed exports to China. Chinese imports exceeded the legal harvest by 154,030 cubic meters in 2012, constituting a 48 percent illegal harvest rate in Mozambique.
The EIA spoke with Chinese firms working in Mozambique about their illegal exports in six case studies included in the report. Liu Chaoying of Mozambique First International Development boasted that he and the current Minister of Agriculture Jose Pacheco, the man tasked with overseeing the forest sector, are "like brothers" and "when he needs money, he has come looking for me." Other businesses said they bribe customs officers and offer high-level politicians monthly wages, stakes in the companies and funding for political campaigns.
