“Bellesbumprom” Proposes Licensing of Toilet Paper and Matches Imports

The state-owned timber industry conglomerate “Bellesbumprom” has submitted for public discussion a draft government resolution introducing licensing for the import of wood-processing products. The measure is expected to remain in force for six months. Earlier this year, the government already introduced a similar regime; comparable restrictions were also in place in 2023 and 2024. This time, however, the draft expands the list of goods subject to licensing to include matches, toilet paper, and other sanitary-hygienic products. The proposal is open for public comment on the Legal Forum until 30 November.

Under the project, one-off import licenses would be issued by the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART) in coordination with Bellesbumprom. Licensing would apply to imports from both EAEU and non-EAEU countries. No license would be required for transit shipments, for goods confirmed as produced within the EAEU, or for items imported as foreign humanitarian aid. The licensing requirement would not apply to imports worth less than €1,000.

The draft list of products subject to licensing includes:
• particleboard;
• oriented strand board (OSB);
• fibreboard;
• wooden windows, balcony doors, and frames;
• wooden doors, frames, and thresholds;
• assembled multilayer flooring panels;
• various grades of paper and cardboard;
• paper bags and sacks;
• wooden furniture for dining and living rooms;
• matches;
• toilet paper;
• tissues;
• hand towels;
• tablecloths and napkins.

Compared to the current resolution, the updated list adds toilet paper, matches, tissues, hand towels, tablecloths, and napkins, while removing corrugated cardboard sheets, boxes, and packaging.

The explanatory note to the draft states that due to the high share of transport costs, exporting Belarusian wood-processing products to more distant markets is low-margin and does not ensure efficient use of production capacity.
“In these conditions, the most rational solution is to increase domestic consumption of domestically manufactured wood products by restricting access for equivalent goods produced outside the Eurasian Economic Union,” the justification reads.

Bellesbumprom argues that match imports must be licensed to preserve the country’s last remaining operational match factory, which is important for maintaining national material reserves. The inclusion of toilet paper and other sanitary-hygienic items is explained by difficulties in securing shelf space for Belarusian-made products. Retail chains reportedly prefer goods of Russian origin, as profit margins on domestic sanitary-hygienic items are lower due to price markup caps set by Council of Ministers Resolution No. 713.