Rainforest covering an area almost the size of Britain has been obtained by a group of European and American industrial logging companies in return for minimal taxes and gifts of salt, sugar and tools, a two-year investigation will disclose today... The companies admitted this week that many of the agreements needed to be reassessed. "Many of the criticisms are valid. The companies are now going to re-evaluate all the agreements made with communities," said Francoise van de Ven, secretary-general of the Congolese Timber Industries Federation, which represents the companies named in the report.