Cameroon and Ghana’s timber industry has not bounced back after the devastation of Covid-19.
Timber markets in Ghana. Image credit: Researchgate.com
According to articles in the Tropical Timber Market Report (TTM) the timber industries in Cameroon and Ghana are struggling to make a comeback after the devastation of Covid-19.
According to TTM few operators in Cameroon are ready to resume operations as the concession bidding process is ongoing. Every year in Cameroon millers with concessions have to negotiate for concessions and can find themselves out-bid at which point they have to rely on the open log market for raw material leaving them without a secure source of logs.
In other news from Cameroon, the Ministers of Forestry, Public Works and the Minister in charge of Public Contracts signed a joint order setting the terms for the use of only legal timber in public procurement in Cameroon. This is a requirement in the implementation of the VPA in the country.
In another article TTM reports that Ghana exported a total of 179 835 cu.m of wood products valued at Eur 92.17-million during the first 10-months of 2020. This represented a decline in volume of 32% when compared to the 266 015 cu.m for the same period in 2019 but also represented an improvement (+13%) over the volume of exports in the first nine months of 2020. In the 10 months to October 2020 there were 78 producers who exported 16 different products including sawnwood, billets, mouldings, veneer, and plywood (to regional markets).
Air-dried sawnwood accounted for 50% of exports with kiln-dried sawnwood and plywood accounting for 16% and 10% respectively. TIDD data also showed air-dried boules, mouldings and rotary veneer registered increased export values in the first 10 months of 2020 against that of 2019.
Total revenue from shipped wood products fell to Eur92.17-million in the first 10 months of 2020, from Eur129.85-million in the same period in 2019 reflecting the decline in volumes shipped.
