Maputo, March 30, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique will introduce a digital timber export control system to resolve data disparities and help combat resource smuggling, officials said on Monday.

"We started with digitisation (...) for forest licencing, and we will now move into digitisation of the [timber] export process. This will ensure high reliability because information provided recently (...) was inconsistent," said Imede Falume, the director of forestry and wildlife in Maputo.

Speaking before the first meeting of the National Directorate of Forestry and Wildlife, he noted that digital tools should resolve timber smuggling, especially in central and northern Mozambique.

"Once we implement the digital export control system, we believe it will significantly resolve this," he added, without providing a launch date.

On 17 March, the public prosecutor's office (MP) said it opened a criminal case into the suspected illegal export of about 400 containers of logs from Pemba port, in Cabo Delgado province.

In December, Lusa reported that Mozambique loses $500 million (€424.3 million) annually to unsustainable forestry practices like illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture (farming method where vegetation is cut down and burned), according to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC – an international non-profit promoting responsible forest management).

The forestry sector supports millions of rural Mozambicans through timber, charcoal, jobs and other activities, according to the non-governmental organisation.

LCE/LYT // AYLS

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