DURING the first half of 2019, Guyana raked in US$18.8 million from timber exports while log production grew this year by 6.8 per cent with 61 concessions awarded to small and medium-scale local operators in the past few weeks.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, made the announcement on Wednesday during a Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) REDD+ Readiness Project workshop for representatives of the National Steering Committee of Community Forestry Organisations (NSCCFO).

Speaking on timber exports, the Minister said: “While this is marginally down from the corresponding period last year, demand on the local market has been increasing which is fueled, of course, by the expansion in the construction sector. It tells us that we may not be exporting as much but certainly production and the use in the domestic sector is on the increase.”

It is this increase, he noted, that is evident in the 6.8 per cent log production growth this year. Meanwhile, the 61 concessions were awarded to operators in forest-based communities as well as local cooperatives. The minister said that while there are challenges existing in the sector, the ministry remains committed to engaging operatives of the sector to finding long-term solutions.

Over the past decade, the forestry sector has contributed between US $40M – US $60M in export value. Some two years ago, it was highlighted that Guyana’s forestry base is equipped with over 1,000 different species of wood but only 30 of these are used. Minister Trotman had acknowledged that studies show that some of the Lesser Used Species (LUS) are comparable to traditional commercial timber species and the Ministry and its stakeholders have since been working to expand the usage of LUS.

In 2018, $120M was set aside to commence a forest inventory to effectively manage the nation’s forestry resources, the last inventory having been done in the 1950’s. To further assist the sector, from January 1, 2018, VAT charges have been exempt for logs and rough lumber to the sawmilling industry, which serve to improve the cash flow of operators by at least G$80M as logs and rough-sawn wood account for over 75 per cent of Guyana’s national production.