Stabroek Business has learnt that the Guyana Forestry Commission is in discussions with the Chinese-owned Demerara Timbers Ltd for the renewal of two timber harvesting leases covering close to 400,000 hectares of forested area and initially granted to the company in June and October 1991, respectively. The June 1991 lease covers an area of 221,772 hectares while the October 1991 lease covers an area of 184,585 hectares.
However, the GFC has said that its figures indicate that DTL is currently operating at less than 40 per cent of its harvesting capacity,