Teak Thieves Are Out There! | Wanna Buy This Yacht $$$ | Our Family Is Growing!

I’m not trying to continually beat you over the head about how valuable teak is—but it is!

And this proves it… 

Stolen teak is a thriving business.

Fortunately, teak thieves are not coming after your teak shower mat or teak patio furniture. However, given the chance…they might.

What teak thieves are really after is raw teak.

Teak logs they can sell on the black market.

 Photo courtesy National Geographic

Nowadays, teak is grown everywhere from South America to Africa.

Teak though is native to Southeast Asia: Indonesia, India and Burma (now called Myanmar).

Indonesia has been the most successful country in stopping the illegal teak trade, thanks to the Perum Perhutani, an Indonesian government agency.  

Just so you know: the teak we use in all our products has been sustainably sourced in Indonesia from plantations overseen by the Perum Perhutani.

These teak woods have been subject to various quality tests and certifications from the Perum Perhutani.

When the logs are cut a barcode is attached to each and every log – proving that our teak is legal and certified wood.

Other teak producing countries would do well to follow Indonesia’s lead.

Every day I read articles in the international press detailing the capture of teak thieves driving trucks filled to overflowing with illegally harvested teak.

Myanmar appears to be the epicenter of the illegal teak trade.

 Recently, Dutch police conducted raids in six locations in the Netherlands where they seized teak originating from Myanmar.

Deforestation is rampant in Myanmar

Since 1990, the nation has lost 58,000 square miles of forests, an area roughly the size of Michigan.

Because Myanmar is rife with government corruption it’s virtually impossible to obtain credible documentation proving that any teak imported from Myanmar was legally harvested.

I just read today that Myanmar authorities, to their credit, seized 178 tons of illegal teak over the past week. And more than 3,098 tons of illegal teak over the past four months.

But who knows how many more tons of illegal teak slipped through.

One thing we do know is that…

Between 2001 and 2018 (the latest data available) 40% of Myanmar’s teak forests—covering over 13,000 square miles—was cut down.

For these reasons countries belonging to the European Union have banned the importation of Myanmar teak.

China and India, however, continue to buy and are in fact the largest importers of Myanmar’s teak.

South Sudan: another hotspot for the illegal harvesting of teak

Great Britain planted South Sudan’s teak forests in the first half of the 20th century. 

Today, South Sudan has a thriving teak trade, worth $500 million annually.

Between January 2018 and March 2019, South Sudan exported 100,000 tons of teak.

How much of that is legally harvested, it’s impossible to know.

All we do know is the government is reportedly being paid by teak traffickers to look the other way.

Why am I giving you a news bulletin about global teak theft?

I may be a bit presumptuous, but I think you favor eco-friendly, sustainable forestry as we do here at TeakCulture.com.

And even if you don’t, but you can appreciate the value and beauty of teak, and want to continue to buy teak products…

It’s important to know that if we don’t buy teak responsibly—from sellers who feel a moral responsibility to source teak that is sustainably harvested…

There will come a time when teak will no longer be available. 

Hopefully, that time will never come.

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Guess how much this baby is selling for?

 Photos courtesy SuperYacht Times

 Photos Courtesy Northrop & Johnson

From bow to stern, this all-teak interior, 123-foot sailing yacht, the Axia, is now on the market for $4,498,108. 

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Announcing a new arrival...shortly!

Finally, there'll soon be a new addition to our family of teak bathroom accessories.

And this new one is a real stunner! When you see it you'll want to sit down--guaranteed!

It's the perfect complement to our teak shower mat

We'll be showing you a few "newborn baby pictures" in the next issue of The Teakster--stay tuned!

Until the next time… stay teak strong!

Faithfully yours,

Barry