Uganda Timber Export Ban and Pine Prices

When did Uganda ban timber exports?

The sources give slightly different dates, so we show all of them. The Office of the Prime Minister published the resolutions of the National Policy Committee on Environment on 29 June 2023. It describes a presidential directive dated 21 June 2023 and says the ban took effect immediately. Export licences and permits for timber were cancelled, and no new export licences were to be issued. The Prime Minister said already-issued licences should be cancelled for exporters "not adding value".

The trade tracker Global Trade Alert records the measure as introduced on 29 June 2023 and in force "until further notice". InfoNile, in a long report of August 2024, refers to an executive order of 24 May 2023. The Uganda Police Force issued an enforcement statement on 26 July 2023 saying exporting timber is illegal and naming veneer as covered. The practical point is the same in every source: from mid-2023, exporting Ugandan timber became unlawful in practice, and the measure has no end date.

Is the ban still in place in November 2026?

We could not find any notice lifting it. Global Trade Alert shows no revocation date. A guide published by EUCA Eco Consults in August 2026, with its export section updated on 10 October 2026, calls the 2026 position "not confirmed" and advises asking the National Forestry Authority (NFA) in writing about your specific product and species. We follow the same caution. If a government notice changes the position, it will appear first on NFA and Office of the Prime Minister channels, not on a property site.

What this means for a tree buyer: assume that exporting logs or sawn boards directly is not available to you, and price any stand as if the whole crop will be sold inside Uganda. If your plan depends on an export route, get the answer in writing before you pay.

What is covered, and can I export plywood or sawn timber?

The official wording is about timber. InfoNile describes the directive as covering "unprocessed timber products" at saw mills and wood factories. Veneer, which was shipped mainly to China from factories in Mubende, Mityana, Kibale and Kyegegwa, was the main target. The Police statement says factories that process timber inside Uganda into plywood, furniture or other value-added products may keep operating if they follow sustainable planting and harvesting plans.

The sources then split on what counts as processed:

• Plywood, wood chips, sawdust and pallets: reported by the head of Busoga Forestry Company as still exportable (InfoNile and The Independent, 2024). The same reports say plywood exports were still allowed.
• Sawn timber: the same company says it could not be exported in practice. A pine-timber guide by EUCA Eco Consults of September 2026 says sawn timber is "generally permitted, subject to documentation", while its own timber-export guide of August 2026 says the position is not confirmed. These two statements cannot both be relied on.
• Veneer: named as covered by the ban.

Our reading: treat sawn timber as not exportable unless the NFA confirms otherwise in writing. Plywood is the one finished product repeatedly reported as still moving. We have no official list of products, and Global Trade Alert keeps its product list behind a sign-in.

What did the ban do to tree and timber prices?

The best dated evidence we found is InfoNile's August 2024 reporting, which quotes growers and mill owners. It says a 10-year-old eucalyptus or pine tree sold for as little as UGX 20,000, and about UGX 30,000 on average, and an acre of mature eucalyptus (about 200 trees) for as little as UGX 6 million. The Independent, writing in the same month, quotes a source saying the same tree could have cost four times more before the directive. A load of logs on a 10-wheeler was reported at UGX 60,000 to 80,000 before the Chinese veneer investors arrived, later UGX 150,000 and sometimes triple that.

These are reported figures from growers and mill owners, not recorded transactions, and they come from 2024. We found no dated 2025 or 2026 stumpage figure for pine in Uganda. That gap is real, so treat any "current price" you are quoted on a call as an asking price. See our pine timber price page for the standing, sawlog and sawn separation, and the Eucalyptus Pole Prices in Uganda for pole prices.

Other effects reported in 2024: Mubende had up to eight saw mills, seven of them Chinese-owned, until June 2023. Nationally about 40 saw mills and wood factories operated. Busoga Forestry temporarily closed its sawmill and was running at 40 percent capacity. Veneer exports had been worth US$23.8 million (UGX 88.5 billion) in July 2022 to June 2023. When that demand stopped, the buyers for mid-size trees in those districts went with it.

Was pine already struggling before the ban?

Yes, for a different reason. A 2020 FAO policy brief found that Uganda's rules already restricted timber exports in practice. Section 44 of the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act (2003 text, as FAO cites it) says nobody may export timber without an export licence and that a licence can be issued only for graded timber. Uganda had no approved grading standard and the licence needed approvals from four agencies. FAO said this kept Ugandan timber prices 25 to 30 percent below Kenya.

FAO also modelled a typical pine plantation at 250 cubic metres of sawlogs per hectare over an 18-year cycle with 35 percent sawmill recovery. Its net present value was minus USD 466 per hectare with restricted exports, USD 174 with 30 percent exported and USD 634 with 50 percent exported. This is a 2020 model, not a price, and it predates the 2023 ban. A 2019 FAO and UTGA workshop deck projected pine wood flows rising from about 200,000 cubic metres a year in 2019 to 800,000 in 2023, and noted excess mill capacity at the time. In short: a supply glut and export limits were pressing on pine before 2023, and the ban added to the pressure.

What about the EU deforestation rules?

EUCA Eco Consults says the application timeline of the EU Deforestation Regulation "has been revised more than once". We could not open the official EU text or the country risk list in this review, so we do not state application dates or Uganda's risk tier here. If you sell wood into Europe, ask your buyer which date applies to you and what plot-level evidence they want (plot location, land-cover history, proof of lawful origin). For most standing-tree sellers inside Uganda this does not apply directly, but a buyer's export plans can change what they will pay for a documented stand.

What does this mean for someone buying or selling standing trees?

• Buyers: price for the domestic market only. Ask what the buyer's mill or pole plant will actually take. A forest listing here sells the trees only, land not included, and the harvesting deadline is negotiable with the seller, so a longer deadline lets you wait for a better market. See How Long Harvesting an Acre of Trees Takes.
• Sellers: be wary of any buyer who promises export-linked prices. Ask for a written price per tree or per acre, and a harvest window.
• Investors: compare the stand price with what the same money earns elsewhere. House prices in Kampala and Wakiso are a useful comparison; see House Prices in Kampala and Wakiso (Our Listings). This page is information, not financial advice.

Our listing snapshot of 3 November 2026 holds 93 published listings and none are forest listings yet (Land & Property listings, Nov 2026). When they arrive you can browse forest and tree listings or book an escorted forest visit before paying anything. Start with Standing trees for sale to see how a trees-only sale works.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Forest Trees for Sale in Uganda: Standing Pine and Eucalyptus
• Pine Timber and Sawlog Prices in Uganda
• Eucalyptus Pole Prices in Uganda (Dated Ranges)
• Harvest Deadline: How Long Should a Tree Buyer Get?
• House Prices in Kampala and Wakiso (Our Listings)