China's Output of Timber Continues to Decline

BEIJING, August 9 (Xinhua) -- China's output of timber in the first five months of this year plummeted 23.2 percent on an annual basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Latest figures show that the output of timber from January to May totaled 12.45 million cubic meters with an output of 1.02 million cubic meters in May.

The Chinese government has imposed ban on irrational lumbering in many forest areas, particularly those on the upper reaches of major rivers in a bid to curb soil erosion.

Many experts have blamed the excessive logging of trees in the past as one of the major reasons for last summer's devastating flooding in southern and northeastern China.