Logs exports continue to rise and for the first half of this year, exports were 12% over the same period last year.
Up to the end of June, 60,955 cubic metres of logs were exported which accounted for earnings of US$11.8 million, according to data supplied by the Forest Products Development & Marketing Council of Guyana Inc. Last year, for the same period, log exports amounted to 54,376 cubic metres earning US$8.7 million. Half of all forest products exported up to June this year was logs.
China and India continue to be the main market for logs with 99.7 percent of logs exported in June destined for the two countries.
Despite numerous promises of value-added processing here, log exports have been increasing over the years and little value-added processing is done. Last year, exports of logs were up by a staggering 80.77% over the figure in 2013, according to the 2014 annual report of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).
Forestry expert Dr Janette Bulkan in a recent letter to Stabroek News said that based on a conservative estimate, Guyana would have added value of x19 in 2014 by making flooring and furniture compared with the crude log exports.
Between January to December 2014, 138,502 cubic metres of logs were exported at a value of US$24.4 million compared to 76,615 cubic metres of logs in 2013 at a value of US$12.4 million. By comparison, plywood exports in 2013 amounted to only 5,278 cubic metres at a value of US$2.6 million. In 2013, plywood exports totaled 4,714 cubic metres at a value of US$2.3 million.
Barama Company Limited has been the producer of plywood in the country and the figure would suggest that it is also exporting other timber products including logs whereas its investment agreements should have required exclusive focus on plywood and other value-added products.
As has been the case over the years, the report had said that logs are mainly being exported to India and China. Controversial Chinese company Baishanlin and equally contentious Indian company, Vaitarna are said to be among the main exporters to these markets. Both Baishanlin and Vaitarna have been accused of failing to stick to their investment commitments while all the time exporting logs.
Last week, Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman said that should Baishanlin and Vaitarna not produce value-added products by the end of the year their contracts could be terminated.
“Both have been spoken to already. Both have given a commitment that within a matter of months they will be addressing the value-added concern… We are in July and I expect before the end of the year the nation will start to see value-added products being produced by those two companies,” he had said.
He added that should this not happen, “Well then their contracts will have to be reviewed for termination.”
