The Netherlands’ Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) has given the Philippines a US$600,000 technical assistance grant to invest in value-added construction products.
CFC explores projects that do not have an adverse impact on the environment while adding value to production. Its tropical timber project involves using small logs for panel production.
Senior project manager Sietse van der Werff said: “When forests are being exploited, people go for the bigger trees and the smaller trees are taken out and are wasted.
“We are trying to see how to ade value to these. If you seel raw products, you get a low price, but adding value raises the price.”
