The Mozambican authorities have stopped the export of 45 containers of wood through the Port of Beira, in a scheme that would have cost the state almost 60,000 euros, an official source announced.

The wood, seized in the district of Dondo, comes from the provinces of Manica and Zambézia, also in the center of the country, and its export would have cost the Mozambican state around four million meticais, Morgado Mucendo, delegate of the National Agency for Environmental Quality Control (Aqua) in Sofala province, told the media on Thursday in the city of Beira.

According to the authorities quoted by Lusa, the company H e J Importações e Exportações, which exploits forests in the center of the country, committed two infractions, namely attempting to export roundwood, which has been banned in the country since 2017, and the lack of authorization for the export of some species whose marketing is banned (blackwood and black chacate).

"To be able to sell or export this wood, you need a permit from the body that regulates international trade in endangered species of flora and fauna," said Morgado Mucendo, without revealing the destination of the containers.

Several international and internal reports have pointed to the squandering of forest resources in Mozambique, due to the unbridled exploitation of timber for export, the main destination of which is China.

Despite the authorities' increasingly aggressive action against this practice, there are frequent reports of large quantities of illegally exported timber being seized.