Timber and Non-timber Forest Products Manufacturing and Marketing

Presented by

Yasika Subasinghe

The new forest policy of Sri Lanka includes provisions for the production of timber and NTFPs, value addition and marketing. Greater responsibility is given to local people, cooperatives, other organised groups or private bodies in commercial forest production for industrial manufacturing and marketing

According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the population in Sri Lanka is still growing at a rate of 1.1%. Annual sawn-wood consumption per 1000 persons in 1993 was estimated to be 31 m³ and sawn-wood demand is projected to grow from 0.544 million m³ in 1993 to 0.885 million m³ in 2020, at a rate of 12,600 m³ per year. Demand for plywood and other wood-based panels are predicted to increase at rates of 2.8% and 3.5% respectively per year. Even though natural forests and forest plantations have the potential to supply country’s total timber demand, most of this is either in inaccessible protected area or felling is banned. Therefore, around 70% of the industrial timber have to be supplied from home gardens, rubber and coconut plantations, and trees planted along farm boundaries, on roadsides, and in urban areas.

Timber manufacturing process comprises of log sorting and barking, log sawing or breakdown, sorting and grading, drying, re-grading and surfacing. At each stage traditional knowledge in timber use and modern technology in maximization of the timber yield should be coupled together. Promoting local tree species in timber manufacturing and marketing can also be recommended.

Non timber forest products play a major role in income generation of local peripheral communities in natural forests. Under policy on wood and NTFP’s industries and marketing, a greater responsibility will be given to the local people, organized groups, cooperatives, industries and other private bodies in commercial forest production for industrial manufacturing and marketing. Efficient forest products utilization, development of competitive forest industries based on sustainable wood sources and manufacturing of value-added forest products will be promoted. Effective measures to protect the forests and prevent illegal trade in wood, NTFPs and endangered species of flora and fauna will also be instituted.

There are many non-timber forests products extracted from natural forests in Sri Lanka. Some of them are gums, resins and oleoresins, barks, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds, flowers and their juices, leaves, grasses, bamboos, canes and creepers, Kitul (Caryota urens) products, edible plants and  medicinal plants.

When a timber product or non-timber forest product is to be manufactured or extracted the market potential for that particular product should be identified at prior stages of planning. Timber manufacturers in both government and private sectors adopt different methods of marketing their products such as holding auctions, facilitating loans for furniture, publishing in websites, paper advertisements. Considering local non timber forest products collectors there is no so called marketing procedures but sometimes intermediate buyers tend to use websites and newspaper advertisements for marketing purpose. However better techniques in yield optimization of timber and sustainable extraction of non-timber forest products should be given more consideration in achieving policy objectives.