Caution on banning of log exports

Local forest producers issue caution on banning of log exports
Say further species-specific bans could cripple some local operators
Friday, February 9th 2007

Some of the country's leading timber producers have told Stabroek Business that they are now deeply concerned that a possible official ban on the export of cut logs could cripple the operations of local forest producers and force companies to retrench hundreds of employees. And the Forest Producers Association (FPA) the umbrella body for the country's loggers and sawmillers say that consultations with Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud have now become imperative if local operators are to avert "the very real possibility" of total collapse.

Local forest producers convened an "emergency" meeting last Tuesday after receiving a notice from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Guyana Forestry Commission notifying them of a national consultation forum on a "log export policy" to be held on Saturday February 17. Most of the timber producers fear that the outcome of the forum is likely to be the imposition of sweeping restraints on the export of logs, a move which they say will have "disastrous consequences" for the industry. They say they want to meet with the Agriculture Minister ahead of the February 17 forum in order to ensure that their perspective on log exports and the broader future of the industry are taken account of at the national consultation. "We believe that unless we are able to bring our own views to bear during those deliberations the end result of the forum could be the imposition of bans on timber exports that will certainly force us to scale down our operations," one of the timber producers told Stabroek Business. The head of one of the largest local timber producers said that his company was already contemplating how many workers may have to be sent home if the sector faces further prohibition in the export of cut logs.

The export of two species of local hardwood, locust and crabwood, has already been prohibited and the local timber producers say they fear that further export bans, including a ban on the export of purpleheart, may follow the consultation forum.

Local timber producers have faced a concerted attack from a robust local and international environmental lobby over the sustainable harvesting of timber. Additionally, threats to the export of timber are also fuelled by what they say is an erroneous official assumption that there is sufficient local milling capacity to transform logs into finished timber and other value-added products. At the recent FPA meeting both timber producers and millers challenged claims that the extent of local milling capacity justified a further squeeze on log exports. They say that most of the local milling companies operate with outdated or defunct equipment and that those companies are desperately in need of substantial injections of capital in order to upgrade their operations.

The forest producers told Stabroek Business that while they welcomed initiatives to regulate the export of logs a ban should not be "species specific" but should be based on "across-the-board percentages." They say that "species specific" export bans could completely cripple those legitimate loggers whose operations focus on specific species.

Meanwhile the timber producers say that should their efforts to meet the Agriculture Minister fail they will attend the February 17 forum "under protest" since they fear that it could be heavily weighted in favour of imposing further bans on log exports.

A particular area of concern for local forest producers is what they contend are conditions for foreign investors in the sector that have created a less than "level playing field."

During his budget presentation in the National Assembly last Friday Finance Minister Ashni Singh said "after years as a lagging sub-sector" forestry is now poised to increase and sustain its contribution to the national output, a circumstance which he attributed to government's "favourable policies that have attracted significant investment, aggressive marketing and a sustainable forestry action plan that meets international requirements."

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