Grainarch was built around documentation. Every certification on this page corresponds to paperwork held on file and available for inspection by qualifying trade clients — not a logo in the footer, not a claim we cannot substantiate. If you are specifying timber for a UK project in 2026, this page is the one that matters.
Burmese teak — the historical reference standard for marine, conservation, and premium architectural teak — has been sanctioned under UK law since 2021. The UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation explicitly designates Myanma Timber Enterprise, the state body that controls all legal teak export from Myanmar, which means new Burma teak cannot lawfully enter the UK trade under any normal route.
Reclaimed Burma teak now trades above £20,000 per cubic metre and supply is finite. Plantation teak grown on commercial 20–25 year cycles in Indonesia and Latin America is a different material regardless of the species label — softer, less oily, less dimensionally stable. Neither option substitutes for old-growth Tectona grandis in the projects that actually need old-growth properties.
Kerala teak, grown under state management on 50–60+ year rotations by the Kerala Forest Department, is the only remaining legal source of old-growth Tectona grandis in UK trade supply. That is the position Grainarch was built to occupy, and we are straightforward about it.
The documents behind the material.
We do not make compliance claims we cannot substantiate. Every certification listed on this page represents documentation held on file and available for inspection by qualifying trade clients.
The regulatory landscape for timber import — particularly for CITES-listed species and sanctioned origins — requires genuine due diligence, not performative statements. Grainarch was built on this distinction.
If you are specifying for a project that requires specific documentation, contact us before committing to an order. We will tell you precisely what we can and cannot provide.
UKTR due diligence records, CITES permits, phytosanitary certificates, and the full sixteen-item documentation pack are provided to qualifying trade clients. Mention "documentation pack" in your enquiry and we will include sample paperwork from a previous consignment in our reply.
Every consignment leaves Kerala wrapped in a complete documentation pack. This is what UKTR-grade due diligence actually looks like when someone does the work rather than outsources it to a certification sticker.
UKTR liability sits with whoever first places timber on the UK market — but it does not stop there. For specifiers, joiners, and trade buyers working downstream, liability is inherited the moment material enters a project without defensible provenance.
Architects and designers who specify undocumented timber carry exposure under UKTR. Material compliance is a specification decision, not just a procurement one. The specification document is evidence.
Indian rosewood (CITES Appendix II) is one of the most actively enforced listings at UK border control. Incomplete documentation is not a minor issue. It is a seizure risk and, in the wrong circumstances, a criminal one.
Teak from Myanma Timber Enterprise is sanctioned under UK law. Material claimed as "Burmese" without airtight pre-2021 reclaimed provenance is a legal exposure, not a product category.
The specifiers and joiners we work with best are the ones who ask hard questions about provenance before they place an order. Send us yours. We will answer in writing.