IN an effort to strengthen the capacity of Guyana’s forest sub-sector to adapt to sustainable production practices, $50M has been allocated in Budget 2018 to establish a Dimension Stockyard which will operate under a Public-Private Partnership, according to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) Board of Directors 2017 report.
The report noted that obtaining quality raw materials (lumber) in sufficient quantity and dimensions has proven difficult.

“The quality of locally produced lumber is not at the level to make it very competitive both locally and internationally. Only a few operators are producing lumber at the desired quality level,” the report noted.

Further, the GFC 2017 report stated that the consolidated or dimensional stockyard is intended to bridge the gap while the public/private sector initiative will be managed by an oversight body.

It was noted that the facility will in no way compete with the private sector as there will be no price disadvantage or compulsory requirements from the private sector.

“The facility will be housed in a central accessible location or perhaps one of the industrial sites. This initiative was actually proposed by the private sector as an initiative to improve growth in the sector,” the report stated. “The funds will be used to set up the regulatory framework of the facility, the governance and administrative structure, site preparatory activities, inclusive of minimal capital equipment and marketing effort,” it added.
The Directors’ report underscored that the facility will also consolidate and facilitate the trading of wood products. The facility will also assist in creating a secondary market for tropical wood products in Guyana.

“This will be useful for operators in the forestry sector who do not wish to take on acquiring and managing a forest concession as well as those operators focused only on downstream processing and value adding,” the report stated.

According to Finance Minister Winston Jordan, strengthening the capacity on the forestry sub-sector to adapt to sustainable production practices will ultimately improve international competiveness and access to foreign markets. Guyana has committed to becoming a part of the European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (EU-FLEGT) programme.