Hundreds of timber harvesters,furniture makers and others involvedin the wood sectors inEssequibo now stand tobenefit from a G$20 millionkiln-drying facilityestablished at Land ofPlenty, Essequibo Coast,Region Two. With this investment, the stakeholders would earn more from their activities, and even produce for exportmarkets.The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) on Thursday commissionedthe facility, set up under aunique public/privatepartnership venture,in which a speciallyestablished Kiln
DryingFacility Associationwould manage the operationswith guidancefrom the ForestProducts Marketing andDevelopment Council.For a small fee, timber harvesters would beable to use the kiln to drytheir woods faster andmore effectively than airdrying. This would enablethem to earn more, andultimately ensure betterquality of furniture andother value-added woodproducts produced in thecounty. There are several lumber yards, six saw mills and 10 furnitureproducers in Region Two,all of which can now benefit from the kiln-dryingfacility.The wood-drying kilnis one of three to be set up in Guyana under a project funded by the Guyana government through the GFC, with help from theInternational Tropical Timber Organisation(ITTO). It was built by Mahild, a German company,and has the capacityto dry 10,000 BM oftimber per day.Speaking to majorstakeholders in the forestrysector, AgricultureMinister Robert Persaudexplained that whilewood exports fetch pricesof between US$400 andUS$450 per cubic metre,kiln-dried lumber couldbe sold at about US$1,000per cubic metre.With this in mind, henoted, the facility wouldhelp the major stakeholdersin the forestry sectorto be more competitive on the international market.He also mentioned that the facility is one that supports the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and will ensure the production of high quality timber for the ex-port market.“What you see to-day is a manifestation of a long-term vision, a plan that will improve and develop Guyana. It’s a manifestation of the LCDS, one that will cre-ate a framework to develop and make the forestry sector more competitive for value-added prod-ucts,” Persaud stated. He also noted that statistics show Essequibo providing 50 per cent of all timber and timber
DryingFacility Associationwould manage the operationswith guidancefrom the ForestProducts Marketing andDevelopment Council.For a small fee, timber harvesters would beable to use the kiln to drytheir woods faster andmore effectively than airdrying. This would enablethem to earn more, andultimately ensure betterquality of furniture andother value-added woodproducts produced in thecounty. There are several lumber yards, six saw mills and 10 furnitureproducers in Region Two,all of which can now benefit from the kiln-dryingfacility.The wood-drying kilnis one of three to be set up in Guyana under a project funded by the Guyana government through the GFC, with help from theInternational Tropical Timber Organisation(ITTO). It was built by Mahild, a German company,and has the capacityto dry 10,000 BM oftimber per day.Speaking to majorstakeholders in the forestrysector, AgricultureMinister Robert Persaudexplained that whilewood exports fetch pricesof between US$400 andUS$450 per cubic metre,kiln-dried lumber couldbe sold at about US$1,000per cubic metre.With this in mind, henoted, the facility wouldhelp the major stakeholdersin the forestry sectorto be more competitive on the international market.He also mentioned that the facility is one that supports the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and will ensure the production of high quality timber for the ex-port market.“What you see to-day is a manifestation of a long-term vision, a plan that will improve and develop Guyana. It’s a manifestation of the LCDS, one that will cre-ate a framework to develop and make the forestry sector more competitive for value-added prod-ucts,” Persaud stated. He also noted that statistics show Essequibo providing 50 per cent of all timber and timber products produced annu-ally. Hence the kiln is an incentive for the people of Essequibo. Further, it is part of the GFC’s and the gov-ernment’s ongoing work to encourage more value-added production in the timber sector, and to re-duce primary exports of logs and the usually small amounts of sawn timber. Against this background, Persaud pointed to the National Log ExportPolicy, which imposes a two per cent commission on log exports to help re-duce log exports and en-courage more value-add-ed and wood processing. By 2012, the commission would reach as much as 12 per cent. Also, Persaud indicat-ed, government is offer-ing various incentives for value-added investments in the wood sector. In his remarks, Acting Commissioner of Forests, Edward Goberdhan, ex-plained that the facility was set up after exten-sive consultations countrywide. He said that he is sure it would enhance
members’ competitive-ness through market-ing based on value (im-age/brand, reliability and availability, quality, cus-tomer service, product range) rather than just price. Region Two Chairman Alli Baksh congratulated the GFC and the fund-
ing agency, and urged members to ensure the project succeeds. He not-ed that Essequibo has many raw materials, and with this added incentive, stakeholders are ex-posed to better opportu-nities, whereby they will be able to produce better quality lumber for export purposes, hence more foreign currency will be obtained. “You need to form cottage industries as entre-preneurs; and as such, employment will be cre-ated for the young ones,” he declared, adding that the facility would ensure maximum use of wood re-
sources. A logger and saw miller, Minto Imam, lauded the GFC’s efforts, since he said kiln loggers can now get the opportunity to process their timber and be rewarded “handsomely”. He also noted that customers can also enjoy a better quality of items, since all the tim-ber will be kilned. “It will last longer, and the qual-ity will be great.”The facility is housed on land leased from
Rupan Ramotar under a 10-year arrangement.
