Barama plywood mill to shut temporarily over supply
Stabroek News, Wednesday, December 5th 2007
Barama Company Limited (BCL) will temporarily close its plywood mill at
Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara this week due to the insufficient
supply of peeler logs which are required for plywood processing, a
company release stated.
The factory will be closed for a few months, the release stated, to
allow the company time to accumulate and build up stock of Baromalli,
the main species of peeler logs used for plywood processing. Meanwhile,
BCL will offer staff the option of transferring to the company's new
sawmill lines at Buck Hall, Essequibo River where it is planning a
substantial increase in production.
"This is in line with our corporate strategy to increase value-added
production in Guyana and to reduce log exports correspondingly. The
company will comply with all the existing laws on worker severance and
compensate employees accordingly," BCL said in the release.
The company has started discussions and negotiations with various
forestry companies to purchase similar peeler logs. And these parties
will require some time to plan and harvest such logs.
According to the release, Chief Executive Officer of BCL, Peter Ho said
that "The decision to temporarily close the plywood facility reflects
the severe supply shortfall of peeler logs." "Our stock of peeler logs
has depleted and we will try our best to resume plywood production as
soon as we are able to establish sufficient stock. It is very difficult
to sustain our business at such low production levels coupled with high
operating costs."
Meantime, the company is engaging customers and informing them of this
supply shortfall, while it is also trying to meet outstanding orders
and needs of customers by supplying plywood of alternative species, the
release added.
Barama has been criticized for not maximizing output from its plywood
mill. It was recently slapped with a hefty fine for violations in
relation to logging on other timber concessions.
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