TRADA has been working with Ghana’s Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) since 2004 when pilot studies were set up to assess the resistance of some lesser-used timber species to marine borer attack. The key features of these species were that they were dense and difficult to machine and, therefore, not suited for high value end uses such as interior joinery.
Following on from this work, TIDD has identified two further possible end uses for some of the more dense, coarse-grained timber species that make up their forest inventory: external timber decking and cladding.
Ghana’s timber industry is primarily located in and around both Kumasi, at the northern edge of the forest zone, and Takoradi, the major point of export, as well as in the general urban area around Accra. About 30% of Ghana’s land area is classified as forest, although the area of forest reserves assigned for timber production is much less. These forests are located in the south-west of the county bordering Côte d’Ivoire.
Ghana’s forests
Ghana’s forests meet many demands. In the more southern parts of the country and in its urban areas, the population is heavily dependent on the forests for food, building materials, fuelwood, charcoal and water. Significant population growth has put intense pressure on land and natural resources. Indeed, in many people’s living memory, the land along Ghana’s coastline has changed immeasurably as forested areas have been cleared for agriculture and urbanisation, particularly within the past 20 years. This phenomenon is prevalent along the West African coast.
The forest products sector is valued at about €180m per year – or 7% of GDP – and its importance to Ghana’s long-term development plans must not be underrated. TIDD recognises that income from timber exports cannot be increased by extracting more timber. Therefore, Ghana is committed to developing its forest industries sector in a sustainable manner and preventing an increase in logging. Furthermore, with aid from the EU, Ghana has taken the first steps to put in place the infrastructure that will demonstrate that Ghanaian timber products can be proven to originate from legal and verifiable sources.
Value-added exports
The future of Ghana’s forest industries sector is inextricably linked to improving earnings from value-added exports and diversification into new markets. To meet these objectives the industry needs to expand its inventory of marketable species and products for export.
As part of its development programme and long-term strategy, TIDD invited TRADA to run a two-day training course at its Timber Technology centre in Kumasi, to highlight the technical requirements for external timber decking and timber cladding and to demonstrate the opportunities within this sector. The course was well attended by around 50 timber producers.
My first objective was to get to Kumasi. About two hours north of Accra, tarmac gave way to red earth and potholes the size of abandoned mine shafts. With swirls of red dust reducing visibility to less than 10m, it soon became clear why many toot-toot buses and lorries were emblazoned with the words ‘I trust in God’.
Navigating Kumasi was relatively straightforward, however. There is an abattoir on the inner ring road. A quick glance into the sky to locate the ubiquitous vultures circling on the thermals generated from a large pyre of carcasses was all it took to fix our location. We arrived at the conference centre without incident.
To put into context the importance attributed to the forest industry sector, the opening ceremony made the national news. I was rather shocked to find a TV crew crouched in front of me and all thoughts of ‘busking it’ vapourised.
As the course progressed it became clear just how focused and determined the timber producers were to understand the requirements for developing value-added products. Judging by the comments and questions, I formed the opinion that the level of knowledge, understanding and competence among the delegates was high.
I made a couple of consistent observations during the training programme, which concurred with observations made during visits to sawmills. For sawmills to operate, they need to process structural and general purpose timber for export. However, in some cases, the only profitable operations are veneer and laminate production. The majority of value-added products, such as flooring and a limited volume of decking, are selected from superior quality material that is processed for the general purpose market.
Catch 22
It is a classic Catch 22 situation. A number of sawmills cannot afford to divert production away from general purpose production into specialised value-added products as, at the moment, there is little or no demand for products such as decking and cladding from Ghana. If demand rapidly materialised, it would be challenging initially for sawmills to switch from, say, structural timber for export, to specialised, value-added production, because all their energies are currently invested in general purpose production. There is little slack in the system.
Furthermore, without an established market for Ghanaian products, continuity of supplies could also pose a significant challenge. However, notwithstanding these initial challenges, most sawmills do possess the machining capability and skills to adapt to an increase in demand for such products.
A second observation was that there appeared to be little communication between the sawmill and the purchaser. Orders were vague and production specifications scant, with detail and the end use of the timber often not known, as sawmills tend to deal with agents and not the end user. Sawmillers often find themselves in the position of, quite possibly, exercising disproportionate quality control to fulfil a vague specification.
Overcoming this lack of communication is firmly within the control of the sawmills. Producers must be more proactive when receiving invitations to tender or to fulfil orders from agents. Having a clear understanding of the end uses of timber could help the producers to minimise waste and to market lesser used species. However, successful marketing must be backed up by robust technical data, which, in turn, should nurture end-user confidence.
