Identify local market requirements for timber and wood products and priority areas for standards and grading rules development

2008

English

Intricacy and difficulty in getting the adequate amount of raw material inputs and species of wood has been the main obstacle of local wood products manufactures. Besides, the domestic market quality needs have been compromised as timber and wood products supplied to the domestic market have no grading rule. The timber industry has over the years been associated with export sales and offers falldown (fail to pass grading standard) timber for the local market. Wood supply to the local market in the past few years is registering decline in both volume and quality, despite an increase in the annual allowable cut (AAC) from 1.0 million m 3 to 2.0 million m 3 . The decline in wood supply has been attributed to industry making every effort to obtain maximum value from the wood, targeting the export market and neglecting the local market quota. The total volume of sawmill lumber available for domestic use is only 152,660 m3 per year, yet the demand of the domestic end-users is about 384,730 m3. This means that the difference of 232,070 m3 has to be supplied from other sources such as illegal logging and chainsaw operations. In some parts of the country such as the Volta Region where sawmills are scarce but there is timber, almost all wood supplied to the market comes from chainsaw operations. The timber industry contended that producing timber, plywood, veneer, etc for the local market is a mirage and unachievable due to cost of production which could only be recuperated through exporting. Industry aver that while their operational cost is saddled with myriads of taxes, high and interrupted power and are also compelled by law to charge VAT on their products thus making their products uncompetitive compared to illegal timber which is readily available and cheap imported furniture which further devalue wood. Some FAWAG members complained bitterly that they could not afford to buy quality dried wood from sawmills at export prices and could only buy the rejected ones from the mills. They affirmed that chain-sawn wood was the only source of quality wood to wood workers. In some parts of the country where there were no sawmills, chained-sawn lumber was the only wood in their timber markets albeit it sales is still illegal

Ametsitsi, G. K. D.; Kyereh, B.; Duah-Gyamfi, A.; Agyeman, V. K.