July 19 (Bloomberg) -- Liberia and the European Union have signed an agreement to stop the export of illegal timber from the African nation into any EU member state, the Liberian government said yesterday.

The aim is to set up a system that traces all timber shipments from the felling point to processing, Liberian Agriculture Minister Florence Chenoweth told reporters. Liberia said the deal is expected strengthen and restore credibility to the country’s timber trade and secure legitimate revenue for the government.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ansu Konneh in Monrovia at akonneh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Victoria Batchelor at vbatchelor@bloomberg.net