Over the past four years, Guyana has seen the establishment of almost 100 sawmills and 50 lumberyards, increasing the number of value-added products within the forestry sector.
As time goes by, it is projected that even more of these facilities will surface, due to the high demand for logs and wood in the housing sector.
This was stated by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, during his media briefing on Wednesday, at the Guyana Forestry Commission Complex in Kingston, Georgetown.
“What we have seen over the last few years, is over 100 new sawmills in our country and over 50 lumberyards established throughout the country. Linden by itself has five sawmills in 2020 and today we have about 19 sawmills in Linden operating at present,” the minister disclosed.
He noted that more people have been coming into the sector, as well as venturing into value-added downstream activities.
According to the minister, the number will increase when the gas-to-energy project comes onstream, since the electricity cost is expected to be cut by 50 per cent.
Electricity is one of the many factors that enables the forming and cutting of logs into wood.
“Even though production in the forestry sector has increased over the last four years, and we are prized in 2024 to produce our target and to pass the 2023 production; what we have seen is a reduction in the exportation of logs…It simply means more of our products are being sold on the local market,” Minister Bharrat stated.
As it pertains to value-added products, the natural resource minister noted that there are a few stakeholders who are engaged in coal production.
He said the aim is to take coal production more seriously and find more market for the product. This means better packaging, and different sizes as well.
The strategies are part of the government’s plan to properly utilise wood waste.
The minister further went on to say, “We have a few landscaping companies that are engaged in the making of mulch [chips]. And this is another way of utilising wood waste.”
Moreover, the government has been making massive strides in the forestry sector in increasing the recovery rate of each log.
Minister Bharrat told the media that when the government took over in 2020, the recovery rate was about 35 to 40 per cent as compared to presently which is approximately 70 to 75 per cent.
The Guyana Forestry Commission has been working with other small and medium-scale operators to increase their recovery rate.