…despite efforts of GFC, FPDMC
Although the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Forest Products Development and Marketing Council (FPDMC) are working to raise the level of awareness in the utilization of lesser used species of wood, sawmills still find it challenging to sell these products, especially in processed form, on the local market.
Some of the 15 LUS tested are Fukadi (Buchennavia fanshawei), used for interior and exterior joinery, furniture, general construction, cabinet work, turnery, plywood and sleepers; Limonaballi (Chrysophyllum pomiferum) a Greenheart match used for heavy construction; Wadara (Couratari spp.) used for interior joinery, exterior joinery (with treatment), inexpensive furniture, moulding and flooring. Futui (Jacaranda copaia) is good for the making of plywood, inexpensive furnishing, mouldings, interior joinery, toys and broomsticks. Morabukea ( Mora gonggrijpii) is good for the making of sleepers, for use in heavy construction, for bridge decking, planking, heavy carpentry, industrial flooring, joinery and boat building. Burada (Parinari spp) is suitable for marine construction (submerged), ship keels, sleepers, heavy construction and flooring. Dalli (Virola spp) is suited to interior joinery, moulding, boxes and crates, light carpentry, particleboards, furniture, cigar boxes and coffins. Suya (Pouteria speciosa) is suitable for general construction, flooring, poles, sleepers and plywood. Darina (Hymenolobium spp) is suitable for heavy construction, paneling, turnery, boxes and crates, and furniture components.
The GFC and the FPDMC have recognized that it is necessary to widen species utilization to increase value and profit, without expanding the area of harvest. But they have also recognized that crucial to the widening of species selection is market demand. Tropenbos International Foundation carried out the initial research and more work was done by the Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) which led to reliable information being provided about the uses of LUS found throughout Guyana, with the aim of encouraging greater acceptance and utilization of these species. There will be continued outreach programmes with stakeholders in the industry. The GFC and the FPDMC are of the view that as demand grows for LUC, so will the value of forest resources that are currently undervalued because of the ‘creaming’ of the more widely known and used commercial species.
Industry and Product Development Officer of the FPDMC, Laura Singh, said people on the market still have more confidence in the use of the commercial species because of history and tradition. “But we feel that once the market is aware of the properties of these species and the benefits of lower prices, there is the likelihood that demand will pick up,” she said.
Singh added that the FPDMC and the GFCA are making a coordinated effort to promote the use of the LUC and provide linkages. “We are going all out on the ground to talk with saw millers, producers and manufacturer [of wood products] on getting their product up to international standards,” she said.

Speaking to this newspaper yesterday, Ramsundar Bisnauth of Jettoo’s Lumber Yard and Sawmills said that his company sells many of the LUS in sawn form. He said that species like Wamara has significant demand on the local market. “A lot of people like it because of the two-toned colour of the wood,” he said, adding that the company has installed a kiln-drying facility.
He said the company has done a lot of work to market and introduce to customers Suya, one of the LUS. He said it is a low value wood that can be converted to a high value product through value adding. He said it is very good for the manufacture of moulding but for this it must be properly dried. He said the grain and structure of Suya cause it to have a good finish. He said the Wamara wood is very good for Guyana’s tropical conditions.
Bisnauth explained that he would tell customers of the virtues of the LUS so that they could know that there are alternatives out there that may be less costly. But he said since some of the species are now being put to the test, only time will tell of their durability, especially in outdoor conditions. He said instead of using greenheart for drainage infrastructure construction in fresh water, one could use Black Karakalli and it has the same strength as the more often used Greenheart, which can be used in saltwater environments.
Chief Executive Officer of Toolsie Persaud Ltd and Interior Forest Industries Co. Ltd, Avinash Persaud, said his company does not go beyond the harvesting of some of the species, because “you don’t get them in abundance, so you can’t sustain a large supply of LUS for export or for the local market.” He said some of the species are softwoods that are not very durable and because of that, “people do not want them.” He said some of them are not even worth the trouble to sell in log form. He said that the price that customers will be willing to pay cannot justify the cost of producing it.
However, he said the company has moved from harvesting just seven or eight of the well-known commercial species to over 33 species. He said some of the species classified as LUS are not even harvested by the company, since there is hardly anything that one could do with them.
Also speaking with Guyana Chronicle, Ronald Mootoo of Toolsie Persaud said they sell some of the LUS, but in log form, only and to the Asian market. He said nobody wants them in sawn form.
A staff of Y. Singh Lumber Yard in downtown Georgetown said that his company deals with chainsaw-cut lumber and that they sell milled Dalli and Darina. They are also aware of the seminars and other sensitization activities of the GFC and the FPDMC that sensitise stakeholders to the LUS.