Wood processing standards, key to increasing competitiveness

Guyana Chronicle news article, 15 November 2007

http://www.guyanachronicle.com/news.html

Wood processing standards, key to increasing competitiveness
GOVERNMENT in recognition of the high demand for wood products on the
local
and international markets and to make Guyana 's products more
competitive,
is placing greater focus on ensuring that the necessary adjustments are
made
to support the sector's growth.
Enforcement of the wood processing standards and procedures among
sawmills,
sawpits, lumber yards and timber depots is one such initiative to
regulate
inefficiencies that exist in forestry processing industries.
These regulations are being promoted among stakeholders by the Guyana
Forestry Commission (GFC) and are considered important to further
development of the forest products industry which is directly linked to
implementation of efficient standards and practices to guide activities
in
the sector.
The regulations have been developed against the background that wood
resources are not unlimited, species are becoming scarce, land
availability
is reducing, more infrastructure is required and global changes are
evident.

The GFC's move to implement the regulations is intended to address
issues
such as inadequate automation, lack of customer loyalty, poor response
time
and safety standards and erratic pricing of timber products which is
evident
in the wood processing industry.
Over the past years, the Commission has expended significant time and
resources to enhance forestry operations by developing Codes of
Practices,
tagging systems, new forest monitoring stations, improved databases and
enhanced monitoring.
Although these have proven successful in some aspects of forestry
operations, it is recognised that there is need to improve on the
procedures
and guidelines to enhance processing activities. This is also essential
in
helping Guyana to maintain its standards for forestry operations that
meet
requirements at the national and international levels.
The regulations will ensure that all logs, lumber and other wood
products
for sale, either locally or for export, must be graded. In this regard,
more
than 200 persons were trained in timber grading to ensure adequate
personnel
to help stakeholders meet the requirements set by the Commission.
Additionally, stakeholders are required to ensure that all wood
products are
properly labelled indicating species, grade and dimensions while all
efforts
must be made to segregate all species.
The regulations further focus on improving health and safety by ensuring
that employees are equipped with safety gear and are accessible to
necessary
training and mechanisms of a safe and comfortable working environment.
Through the GFC and the Forestry Products Marketing Council (FPMC),
seminars
have been held in Demerara, Berbice, Essequibo and Linden to sensitise
stakeholders on the regulation and hold further consultations.
The regulations were initially announced in 2006 for implementation in
2007.
However, a one-year grace period was granted for stakeholders to make
necessary adjustments and comply with the regulations. (GINA)