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Nearly half of all sampled birch products—used in furniture, kitchen panels, and musical instruments—certified by FSC or PEFC have been misidentified and do not come from the correct country of origin. 44% of the evaluations showed that documentary claims relating to wood fiber species or harvest location were incorrect. 46% of certified products had claims that were incorrect.
High percentages of incorrect claims were found for wood fiber from products with harvest location claims in Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, and Latvia, all of which border sanctioned birch production areas.
In 2024, FSC and Assurance Services International (ASI) launched a transaction verification (TV) loop on FSC-certified birch wood panels in China and Europe. The preliminary results from the first phase of the TV loop – data collection and analysis – reveal a number of integrity risks in certified birch wood panel supply chains. The risks will be evaluated in the next stages of the investigation. The TV loop captured 3,436 transactions that took place in 2023, as reported by 665 certificate holders with physical possession of certified material from 18 countries in the Eurasian region. They are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China (including Hong Kong), Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Slovenia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Some of the key findings and the integrity risks they pose to certified birch wood panel supply chains are:
- Around 74 % of the certificate holders reported zero transactions (no purchases or sales) of birch products, many of which were from China. This is indicative of a potential risk because there are multiple stakeholder reports alleging a large supply of birch products originating in China.
- Concerning cases of potential volume mismatch: some certificate holders reported purchases while their suppliers reported zero sales. Additionally, some certificate holders declared the purchase or sale of specific (‘zero transaction’) Betula species that were not within the suppliers’ certificate scope or geographic region.
- A large volume of birch logs purchased from Ukrainian forests may potentially originate from the conflict area. In light of the current suspension of the FSC certificates in specified conflict zones, the reported volume of domestic purchases from Ukrainian forest management units and the volume of wood panels exported from Ukraine are a cause for concern.
- None of the certificate holders participating in this TV loop declared any purchase or sale of birch from Russia within the scope of their FSC certification. However, potential mismatches between the volume of wood purchased and sold through the supply chain may be a result of non-certified wood (including that from Russia) entering the certified supply chains.
The investigation shows that Russian plywood is being smuggled en masse into numerous EU member states and that efforts by authorities to clamp down have been woefully inadequate. As a result, illegal blood-stained birch worth over 1.5 billion euros has been sold in Europe since sanctions took effect.
Piecing together information from insider leaks, trade documents and clandestine calls, we reveal the actorsThe investigation shows that Russian plywood is being smuggled en masse into numerous EU member states and that efforts by authorities to clamp down have been woefully inadequate. As a result, illegal blood-stained birch worth over 1.5 billion euros has been sold in Europe since sanctions took effect.
Piecing together information from insider leaks, trade documents and clandestine calls, we reveal the actors at every stage of the supply chain – from the manufacturing giants in Russia, through to the firms laundering their products in China, Kazakhstan and Turkey, and their customers in the EU.
at every stage of the supply chain – from the manufacturing giants in Russia, through to the firms laundering their products in China, Kazakhstan and Turkey, and their customers in the EU.
This article mentions a recent EUTR action whereby Belgian new genetic techniques to identify 260 tonnes of timber imported into Belgium from Russia illegally. Suspecting that Russian timber imports were continuing despite sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, researchers analysed samples against a sub-set reference library that related to the twelve nations thought the most likely candidates for the wood’s true origin, including samples taken from Russia. Having identified Russia as the region of origin, authorities were then able to trace the supply chain back through Latvia and Estonia, closing down an illegal import route and a lucrative Russian revenue stream.
The TV loop aims to identify and take action against instances of false claims or other violations of FSC requirements.
The scope of this Eurasia birch wood panels TV loop is:
- Geographic areas: China and central and eastern European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine).
- Product type: Plywood
- Species: Birch (Betula)
FSC Estonia may soon disappear if the certifying body does not abandon additional requirements that the largest wood owner in Estonia, RMK, does not intend to agree with on principle. The wording under discussion includes a point about how to consider indigenous peoples.
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