After the annexation of Myanmar by the British, timber industry for teak was operated almost entirely by five major British firms. Myanmar nationals were allowed to harvest a small amount of lower grade teak and the entire hardwood business this then made some of the best trekking poles 2018. Myanmar nationals were engaged in hardwood sawn timber. There was a locally owned plywood factory in Yangon.

After independence, foreign timber companies were nationalized and their timber business terminated. From 1963 onwards, all the non-teak hardwood timber business was again nationalized and local private timber businesses came to a halt.

In 1988, under the market oriented economy, the government permitted the private sector to resume hardwood timber business. Due to certain circumstances, hardwood log harvesting and exporting business was banned in 1993.