Log exports for the first six months of this year were valued at US$8.7 million, compared to less than US$1 million for plywood, challenging Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh’s recent report that the 31.3% increase in timber export earnings was due to “an expansion in plywood exports.”
Stabroek News reported yesterday that log exports rose by a whopping 80% in the first half of this year, while plywood exports increased by 4.3%. The data came from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), which cited figures supplied by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). Yesterday, further data obtained by Stabroek News showed that log exports from January to June this year were valued at US$8,726,893 while for the same period, plywood exports were valued at US$973,925. The organization supplying the data also cited the GFC as the source for the figures.
Government has been tightlipped on log export numbers and the figures supplied to the two organisations