The production of wood in rolls reached 981,445 m3 during 2017, a volume only 1.3% higher than that reported in 2016.
According to the annual report of the National Forestry Office (ONF), in the harvest of 981,445 m³ of wood in rolls reported last year, was considered log wood dedicated to export and sawn timber by the primary processing industry. Of the harvested wood, 77.5% is of forest plantations, 17.1% of agricultural land without forest and 5.4% of the forests.
In 2016, Central American countries exported $223 million worth of wood and its manufactures, and the value exported to India grew by 20% compared to 2015.
Figures from the information system on the Central American Market for Wood and its Manufactures, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with the chart"]
Last year imports of sawn timber grew by 34% compared to 2015, while wood furniture exports and imports increased by only 3.4% and 2.6%, respectively.
From the report "Trade balance and main trends in exports and imports of wood and furniture 2016", from the National Forestry Office:
Exports of raw timber were similar to those of the previous year, as 52% ($21.6 million) of the amount exported in 2016 corresponded to log pieces, the rest was reported as sawn lumber, ie $19, 9 million.
A business conference for companies working in the timber and related products sector has been organized for November 4, 2016 in Heredia, Costa Rica.
From a statement issued by the National Forestry Office:
As part of the sixth edition of the Vive La Madera Fair and C-Neutralidad 2016, LaOnf, the FONAFIFO and the MINAE will be hosting business negotiations for timber and related products, which will be assisted by PROCOMER.
In 2014 1.017.000 cubic meters of roundwood timber were processed, of which 78% came from forest plantations, 20% from land in use and agriculture, and 2% from forests.
From a summary of the study by the National Forestry Office (ONF):
As part of the results revealed in this report, it is estimated that the industry of primary wood processing, in both stationary and portable plants, processed 1,017,000 cubic meters of roundwood (m3-r).
Entrepreneurs in the timber industry are complaining that excessive regulation and high production costs are preventing them from exploiting the productive capacity of the sector.
Today, three quarters of total wood consumption is grown in the country and the rest is supplied by imports, however, "... Regulations mean that only a small percentage of the productive capacity of Costa Rica is used. "
Entrepreneurs from Chile and Central America will be gathering together in San Jose from November 5th to 7th to explore business opportunities in the wood sector.
The event entitled 'Business Meeting on Forestry and Timber in Central American and the Caribbean' is being organized by the Trade Commission of Chile in Costa Rica (ProChile) and is expected to draw more than 20 entrepreneurs and exporters with the aim of striking deals with Central American countries.
A U.S. company plans to rescue wood species such as Cocobolo and Rosewood that have been left under the water of the lake created by the Bayano hydroelectric dam.
The U.S. company Hollund Industrial Marine, Inc., has announced that it will soon have the respective environmental licenses to enable it to extract the timber submerged under Lake Bayano.
In order to take advantage of attractive markets for wood such as Europe and the U.S., the country needs to work on getting certification of sustainable forests .
"They have started ( in major markets ) the process of agreeing on the need to relate better to the environment , therefore, the products we are offering will have more opportunity to be purchased if there is a new kind of relationship with the environment" said Matthias Dietrich , executive director of the Nicaraguan Union for Corporate Social Responsibility ( UniRSE ) .
The European Union has put into effect a regulation to combat trade in products manufactured with illegal timber with an emphasis on traceability.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
In March the European Union (EU) put into effect Regulation (EU) 995/2010 of the European Parliament which seeks to regulate the market for wood products in order to minimize the risk of selling illegal timber in the EU, this regulation requires the operator or company responsible for introducing a product of this nature to the region to be able to apply the principle of "due diligence", so as to ensure that timber traded is legal.
On March 18 a business conference on forestry will take place, which will bring together sustainable timber producers and potential clients at both the national and international level.
From a press release published by the National Environmental Authority (ANAM):
A business conference on responsible wood use will be held in Panama on March 18 in order to establish a relationship and promote linkages between the different actors involved in timber production, especially that being undertaken in Darien.
Professionals, producers, traders, academics and manufacturers and consumers of wood, came together to promote the best use of the material.
This Thursday the ‘Instituto Costarricense de la Madera’ was officially launched, an entity which will promote the use of the material in the construction sector, and in scientific and technical arenas.
The Costa Rican Institute of Wood (Icomadera), was formed in December 2012 with the participation of professionals, producers, traders, academics and manufacturers and consumers of wood, with the aim of promoting the use of wood in the construction industry .
A voluntary agreement is already underway with the European Union to reduce trade in timber goods made from illegal logging.
The first round of negotiations have been conducted on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU, and the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) in order to reduce trade in manufactured goods made from illegal timber logging.
The National Forestry Bureau has presented a report on the uses and contributions of timber, statistics 2011, which includes the latest study on timber prices.
From the Executive Summary of the report of the National Forestry Office (ONF):
In order to collect the data we created a census with industries that are part of the ONF database, taking into consideration a total population of 273 primary processing timber industries.
A Furniture Technology Center funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands will support the timber and furniture industry.
The Mesoamerican network along with the Caribbean forestry trade network (Jagwood) are part of the project, acting as a promoter of responsible wood purchasing that is controlled and / or certified.
An article in Laprensa.com.ni by Hans Wessels, quotes the Head of Cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who said that "the center which will be built together with Mesoamerican network and the Caribbean forestry trade network, Jagwood will be 'a permanent Nicaraguan furniture fair' ".