Pressure group the Burma Campaign UK has again targeted the timber sector in its lobbying against trade with the South-east Asian country.
The latest edition of the group’s “Dirty List” of companies trading with Burma includes 18 in the timber sector.
The Burma Campaign, which says trade with the country is used to fund the military dictatorship, also intends to step up its activities next year by targeting companies that supply teak decking for marine applications.
Erik Albrechtsen of DLH Timber, which is named on the list, said: “I do not think we sell any Burmese teak in the UK, but we do sell it on other markets. We respect organisations dealing with human rights issues, but ‘dirty list’ is a strong term for doing something which is completely legal.”
Mr Albrechtsen, head of DLH’s forestry and environment department, said a teak boycott could have negative implications for poor Burmese timber sector workers.
Timber Trade Federation (TTF) chief executive John White said companies trading with Burma ran the risk of becoming the focus of NGO activity, which could affect the industry’s reputation.
He said: “While it will be for individual companies to take a view on dealing with a country that is widely condemned as having an appalling human rights record, the TTF suggests that in those cases where members do trade they make the usual assessments as to legality.”
The Burma Campaign is calling for a total ban on trade with the country.
