Green forest fire notification in Laos

Supply-chain Risk Briefing: Laos Forest Fires

1) Summary Medium-scale forest fires occurred in Laos from March 27 to April 11. The fires are presumed to be dry-season fires and have the potential to impact agricultural production and logistics networks in the Southeast Asian region.

2) Supply-chain impact

• Agricultural commodities: Concerns over smoke damage and productivity decline in cultivation areas for major Laotian exports including rice, corn, and coffee
• Forest products: Potential disruptions to rubber, timber, and other forest-based raw material production facilities and supply chains
• Overland logistics: Possible visibility restrictions and need for alternative routing in Mekong River basin transportation networks and Thailand-Vietnam connecting overland transport
• Regional manufacturing: Risk of operational shutdowns or quality control issues at nearby manufacturing facilities due to air quality deterioration from smoke

3) Watch points

• Confirmation of complete fire suppression and tracking recovery status of agricultural and forestry production facilities in affected areas
• Monitoring potential for additional fires during continued dry season and whether they spread to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam