THE Board of Directors of the Guyana Forestry Commission has welcomed the budget measures proposed by the Ministry of Finance for the sector, the body said in a statement on Thursday.

The Guyana Forestry Commission Board of Directors, which includes representatives of the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA) and the Forest Products Association (FPA) said that the proposals for 2018 are measures for which they lobbied and which the sector has long called for.

“We are confident that they will further support the development of Guyana’s forest sector, especially in terms of competitiveness, growth, and boosting the sector’s ability to manufacture quality added-value products and enhance its profitability.”

Among the measures unveiled by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, is the restriction of the importation of pine wood and pine wood products. Following strong representation by Guyana at the recent meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), an organ of CARICOM, Guyana’s request for a suspension to increase the Common External Tariff (CET) on pine wood and pine wood products from 5 percent to 40 percent, was approved. The new tariff will be in effect from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019.

Additionally, Jordan announced the exemption of logs and rough sawn lumber from VAT with effect from January 1, 2018. This will improve the cash flow of forest sector operators, including smaller producers, by at least $80 million. The forestry board also made note of the setting aside of $120 million to commence a national forest inventory.

“This will enable better marketing of Guyana’s timber and non-timber forest products, including environmental services, among other benefits,” the body said, adding that the allocation of $50 million as a tangible indication of Government’s preparedness to enter into a Public-Private Partnership, to establish a dimension stockyard is also a laudable intervention.

The stockyard is expected to bring direct benefits to both large and small producers, especially those at the community level, including Indigenous communities. “While the forest sector experienced challenges in 2016, resulting in lower production, export and overall growth, there has been a recovery in 2017. The GFC Board of Directors will continue to work with all stakeholders to accelerate the development of the forest industry in Guyana,” the release from the board stated.