Militia close to ousted president Pascal Lissouba and former premier Bernard Kolelas have also destroyed road bridges, preventing companies from transporting logs to rail lines for transfer to Pointe-Noire port. He said the sum had been greatly reduced after a successful debt collection organised by the forestry ministry. Log production in the country is forecast to exceed 600,000 cubic metres in 1999, up from around 550,000 in 1998. Congo's forests cover 20 million hectares, with a timber potential of 180 million cubic metres.
Timber is the second biggest export earner after oil.
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