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Barama temporarily closes Land of Canaan sawmill
BARAMA Company Limited (BCL), yesterday indicated that it will temporarily
close its plywood mill at Land of Canaan this week due to insufficient
supplies of peeler logs which is required for plywood processing.
The company in a statement said the factory will be closed for a few months
to allow Barama time to accumulate and build up stock of Baromalli, the main
species of peeler logs used for plywood processing.
At the same time, the company said it has commenced discussions and
negotiations with various forestry companies to purchase similar peeler
logs.
According to Barama, these parties will require some time to plan and
harvest such logs.
BCL said it will offer staff the option of transferring to the company's new
sawmill lines at Buckhall, Essequibo where it is planning a substantial
increase in production.
Barama assured that this is in line with its corporate strategy to increase
value-added production in Guyana and to reduce log exports correspondingly.
The company said it will comply with all the existing laws on workers'
severance and compensate employees accordingly.
"The decision to temporary close the plywood facility is very unfortunate
and reflects the severe supply shortfall of peeler logs," said Peter Ho,
Chief Executive Officer of Barama Company Limited.
"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," he said.
BCL said it is currently engaging customers and informing them of this
supply shortfall.
"Barama has worked hard over the years to promote the Baromalli species to
customers and we hope customers will understand our predicament," Ho said.
The company said it endeavours to meet outstanding orders and needs of
customers by supplying plywood of alternative species.
BCL, owned by the Malaysia-based Samling group, was a few weeks ago slapped
with a $96.4M compensatory fine and ordered to immediately suspend
sub-contractual operations with three local firms for breaching stiff
forestry regulations.
Barama, the country's largest exporter of logs, reacted by temporarily
closing its operations in late October in protest, claiming the penalties
imposed by the Guyana Forestry Commission are "severe, unclear and
arbitrary".
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