34 | Sector Focus: Tropical Timber
sawmill, which has throughput of 180,000m3 a year, supplies 37 different varieties, offering air-dried and kiln-dried sawn lumber and planed and profiled products.
Above: Precious Woods forest audit in Gabon PHOTO: ATIBT
In 1997 it became the “first natural forest management company in Brazil” to achieve FSC certification and it was certified under the PEFC-endorsed Cerflor scheme in 2017. It also has FSC Ecosystem Services Certification for carbon sequestration and storage and watershed services. A REDD+ carbon project is also under development with a local partner. In Gabon, Precious Woods has held a 99% shareholding in Compagnie Equatoriale des Bois (CEB) since 2007. This company was also a pioneer in sustainable forest management. It was the first to develop a comprehensive forest management plan in Central Africa, and, in 2008, the first in Gabon to achieve FSC certification, in addition to which it is now also PEFC-certified. It manages 596,800ha of forest, harvests 240,000m3
of
◄ Precious Woods is expressing its confidence in this future with continued investment in its forestry and production operations in Gabon and Brazil. And more developments are in the pipeline. At the same time, however, it says that the current tropical timber market is tough and looks like remaining so for the immediate future, creating prospects of industry concentration. It’s partly the result of general economic downturn. But another part of the problem is an apparent lack of understanding on the part of authorities internationally of the tropical forest products trade’s developments in environmental performance. Consequently, regulatory frameworks, notably those of the EU, appear stacked against the sector.
Headquartered in Switzerland, Precious
Woods exports worldwide, but with a particular focus on Europe, Asia and Latin America. It was one of the front runners in achieving tropical forestry sustainability certification. It has also been one of the foremost promoters of using a wider spread of tropical timber species as a key element of making most sustainable use of the forest – to an extent letting what the forest naturally and sustainably provides shape operations.
The company’s Brazilian business, Precious
Woods Amazon – MIL Madeiras Preciosas manages 599,597ha of its own forest as well as public and private concessions around Itacoatiara, about 250km from Manaus. It’s an area with a rich spread of species and MIL’s
timber a year and operates three sawmills. Precious Woods also holds a 49% stake in Compagnie des Placages de la Lowé (CPL) in Gabon, which has two veneer plants. CEB’s primary species are azobé and
okoumé, but it also processes padouk, okan and a range of other species. Reflecting how the business is informed by the harvest, in 2020 a new 17,000m3
-a-year capacity
production line was installed at its Bambidie mill site to handle the high level of azobé available from its latest cutting area. In latest developments, CEB has added planing capacity to produce S4S padouk. A new peeling line is also about to come on stream at CPL.
In Brazil, Precious Woods Amazon has been investing in new harvesting equipment. While continuing capital spending, however, Precious Woods acknowledges current market difficulties. “We are seeing a very, very heavy market downturn,” said co-chief executive officer Markus Pfannkuch. “We may not yet be at 2008 levels, but it’s not far off. This may not be the same for the lead tropical species in the international market, such as sapele, but our operations don’t offer those, so market- wise it’s currently very complicated. It is particularly challenging to sell lesser-known species out of Brazil.” The key to driving demand for lesser- known tropical species, he added, is to persuade the market to specify on technical performance and fitness for purpose rather than species. But that remains a challenge, particularly when the market is difficult. The US is a key target market for MIL, but currently is focused on those lead tropical varieties.
Above: In 1997 MIL became the “first natural forest management company in Brazil” to achieve FSC certification TTJ | November/December 2023 |
www.ttjonline.com
“The US is the market everybody wants to develop, but if you don’t have those lead species, notably sapele and teak, it’s
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