Nearly 800 companies operating in the sphere of timber harvesting in Bulgaria have threatened protests over a ban on exports.

Industry representatives demand that the ban on timber exports be revoked, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Bulgarian parliamentary parties agreed that the ban on timber exports was an adequate method to combat illegal harvesting.

Bulgarian MPs differed in their opinion on the period of application of the measure, with some calling for an indefinite ban.

Bulgaria’s Parliament eventually adopted a 3-month moratorium on timber exports, specifying that changes to the Forest Act were to be drafted during the period.

During the debates, however, experts noted that the ban on timber exports clashed with the principle of free movement of goods in the EU, stressing that timber companies could initiate lawsuits against the state.

Timber industry representatives claimed that they would run up losses of BGN 40 M during the 3-month period of the ban.