Veep Opens Conference on Timber Trade
Taxes on imported logs and sawn timber are to be removed as part of efforts by government to bolster the flagging timber industry, which has been hard hit by the global financial downturn, Vice President John Mahama announced last Tuesday.
He said the decision to remove the taxes is to encourage the flow of raw materials to feed the timber industry, which is reeling from poor patronage resulting in the loss of jobs as many companies cannot cope with the situation.
Addressing delegates at the on-going International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) conference in Accra, Vice President Mahama stated the need for a high level of collaboration between African countries as part of efforts to create alternate markets to offset the downturn.
Many African countries have been experiencing poor patronage for the timber products, and Vice President Mahama encouraged them to ensure that barriers to trade are eliminated to allow the free flow of goods and services.
Vice President Mahama's concerns are supported by a study by the ITTO which makes it clear that although the US continue its dominance as the most lucrative destination for Ghana's kiln-dried lumber and rotary veneer, the recent economic crisis has caused the slump of demand for the country's timber products, particularly Mahogany and Odum.
This, according to the report, has forced some of Ghana's lumber and veneer prices down, thus affecting the viability of these companies. The Vice President told delegates at the joint ITTO and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation conference that they must help to ensure vibrant wood processing industries in Africa, with collaboration among governments in ensuring that barriers to trade are eliminated.
In addition, such interventions, he explained, should focus on creating a balance in resource utilisation to ensure that the environment is not unduly disturbed, arguing that 'sustainability of timber resources should be the prime objective of African nations'.
Ghana, he explained, has engaged the European Union on a project called the 'Voluntary Partnership Agreement' to ensure that timber products from Ghana originate from legal sources, to ensure sustainability of the industry and the development of an appropriate legal regime to regulate the depletion of forestry resources.
Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said forestry contributes substantially to rural livelihoods because of the large segment of society that depends on it for their livelihood, and as a result government is initiating steps to make it a sustainable part of the poverty alleviation agenda.
One such effort, he said, is the implementation of a large scale commercial plantation development programmes throughout the country to serve as a mechanism for rural job creation and ultimately to help reduce poverty. Other programmes being pursued by the government, Alhaji Dauda outlined, are the expected restoration of depleted forests to fill what he estimated to be a 3.5 million cubic meters per annum timber supply and timber deficit.
Other speakers at the function included Mr Michael Maue, Chairperson of the International Tropical Timber Council, Mr Martin Mabala, Gabonese Minister of Forestry and Dr Daniel Aka Ahizim his Ivorian counterpart.