Development Of Market Information System For Solomon Island

Transcription

DRAFT
European Union
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade Project
(FACT)
Development of a Market Information
System for Solomon Islands Timbers
March 2009
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Suva, Fiji
Prepared by:
Salwood Asia Pacific Pty Ltd
Canberra, Australia
Authors:
Stephen Midgley
Richard Laity
Contributors:
Eugenia Katsigiris
Peter J. Eddowes
Alan Brown
DRAFT
©The authors 2009
Cover photograph: Hardwood logs arriving at Honiara port
DISCLAIMER
Qualifications
Salwood Asia Pacific Pty Ltd ACN 108 926 656 is a registered business name with the Registrar General’s Office of
the Government of the Australian Capital Territory.
The person responsible for the preparation of this document is Mr Stephen Midgley, RPF, who was assisted by Professional Intern, Mr Richard Laity.
Mr Midgley has had substantial experience in the forest industry and has formal qualifications from the Australian National University. He has worked in the forestry sector in Australia and overseas for CSIRO, Government agencies and
private companies. His work has been recognised internationally and he is a member of the Institute of Foresters of
Australia and a Registered Professional Forester (RPF). Mr Laity is a graduate forester from the ANU with experience
as an Australian Youth Ambassador in the Solomon Islands.
Declaration
This report has been prepared at the request of Dr Lex Thomson, Project Team Leader, SPC Facilitating Agricultural
Commodity Trade Project, and the Responsible Officer for the Project.
Disclaimer
The statements and opinions contained in the document are given in good faith, but in the preparation of this document,
Stephen Midgley, has relied, in part, on information supplied from other sources. The document has been prepared with
care and diligence, however, except for those responsibilities which by law cannot be excluded, no responsibility arising
in any way whatsoever for errors or omissions (including responsibility to any person for its negligence), is assumed by
Salwood Asia Pacific Pty Ltd or employees for the preparation of this document.
Limitations upon use
This document is for the use of the party to whom it is addressed. No responsibility is accepted to any third party who
may use or rely on the whole or any part of the content. Neither the whole or any part of this document, nor any reference thereto may be accepted in or with or attached to any document, circular, resolution, letter or statement, without
the prior written consent of Stephen Midgley, as to the form and content in which it is to appear.
A MARKET INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR SOLOMON ISLANDS TIMBERS
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Terms of Reference
1.
2.
Identify sources of price information for
Solomons timbers. Key species include Pterocarpus indicus, Vitex cofassus, Pometia pinnata, Intsia bijuga, Campnosperma
brevipetiolatum, Gmelina moluccana, Terminalia brassii, Paraserianthes falcataria, Dillenia alata, Calophyllum spp. , Agathis
macrophylla and Palaquium spp.
Evaluate value-adding options (sawing, kiln
drying, dressing etc) — cost of operations versus improved returns (taking into account recovery rates) for two major timber species
(one native, one plantation) to give an indication on economics of value adding through
timber processing.
3.
Advise on markets and prices for plantationgrown teak (especially small-diameter material).
4.
Advise on potential markets and prices for
Flueggea poles (naturally durable small poles)
into Australia and New Zealand for horticultural industry and other purposes.
5.
Explore new market opportunities for SI
wooden handicrafts.
6.
Explore market opportunities of blocks of
speciality timbers (including ebony, figured
timbers, etc.) for wood turners/craftsmen
7.
Undertake preliminary market intelligence and
trends for SI timbers.
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Contents
Terms of Reference ..................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... vi
In Australia ...................................................................................................................................... vi
In New Zealand ............................................................................................................................... vi
Acronyms .................................................................................................................... vii
Summary .................................................................................................................... viii
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1
The FACT Project ............................................................................................................................ 1
The Solomon Islands ........................................................................................................................ 2
Solomon Islands’ forestry sector ...................................................................................................... 2
Challenges to the management of natural forests ............................................................................ 4
Plantations ........................................................................................................................................ 4
2. Sources of Price Information for Solomon Islands Timbers................................. 5
Factors influencing log prices .......................................................................................................... 5
Sources of information on log prices ................................................................................................ 9
3. Evaluation of Value-Adding Options ..................................................................... 17
Tree selection ................................................................................................................................. 17
Sawing ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Sawing patterns and timber dimensions ........................................................................................ 19
Seasoning ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Considerations for kiln drying ........................................................................................................ 19
Log protection and timber treatment .............................................................................................. 20
Grading sawn timber ...................................................................................................................... 20
Issues in container transport ........................................................................................................... 20
Furniture ......................................................................................................................................... 21
Costs in export markets .................................................................................................................. 24
Value-adding opportunities for kwila and teak .............................................................................. 24
4. Markets and Prices for Plantation-Grown Teak (Tectona grandis)...................... 29
Plantation teak and teak in the Solomon Islands ............................................................................ 29
International teak markets .............................................................................................................. 29
International prices for plantation teak ........................................................................................... 30
5. Potential Markets and Prices for Flueggea Poles into Australia and
New Zealand for Horticultural Industry and Other Purposes................................... 36
Background to Flueggea flexuosa .................................................................................................. 36
Potential markets as vineyard posts in Australia and New Zealand ............................................... 36
Issues .............................................................................................................................................. 37
Challenges ...................................................................................................................................... 39
6. Market Opportunities for Solomon Islands Wooden Handicrafts ........................ 40
Background .................................................................................................................................... 40
Challenges ...................................................................................................................................... 41
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7. Market Opportunities of Blocks of Speciality Timbers for Wood Turners/Craftsmen43
Market knowledge of Solomon Island speciality timbers .............................................................. 44
Market reliability ............................................................................................................................ 44
Products and market needs ............................................................................................................. 44
Costs ............................................................................................................................................... 44
Size of markets ............................................................................................................................... 45
Marketing ....................................................................................................................................... 45
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 46
8. Market Intelligence ................................................................................................. 47
9. Conclusions and Recommendations..................................................................... 49
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 49
Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 49
10. References ............................................................................................................ 51
11. Annexes ................................................................................................................. 54
A N N E X 1 F I E L D T R I P I T I N E R A R Y , S O L O M O N I S L A N D S ................................ ..... 54
9–20 December 2008...................................................................................................................... 54
A N N E X 2 P E O P L E C O N S U L T E D ................................ ................................ .. 56
A N N E X 3 A C C E S S I N G C H I N A C U S T O M S D A T A ................................ ............... 58
The contents covered in this annex are: .......................................................................................... 58
1. Types of data available and product categories .......................................................................... 58
2. Liaison with China Customs and ordering data from abroad ..................................................... 59
3. Price for various data from China Customs ................................................................................ 60
4. Case study results ....................................................................................................................... 60
5. Hong Kong data.......................................................................................................................... 66
Sub-annex A: China Customs categories of wood and wood products .......................................... 71
Sub-Annex B: Data from China Customs in format received ........................................................ 82
A N N E X 4 V A L U E - A D D I N G O P T I O N S F O R S O L O M O N I S L A N D T I M B E R S ................. 85
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 85
A review of value adding options ................................................................................................... 85
Market intelligence and trend for Solomon Island timbers ............................................................ 91
Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 91
References ...................................................................................................................................... 92
A N N E X 5 D O C U M E N T A T I O N F O R E X P O R T O F L O G S F R O M T H E S O L O M O N I S L A N D S 94
A N N E X 6 DOCUMENTATION FOR EXPORT OF SAWN TIMBER FROM THE SOLOMON ISLANDS . 10 1
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Acknowledgements
The study team acknowledges the great assistance offered by many people in the Solomon Islands, Australia
and New Zealand who generously shared information,
experience and their enthusiasm for the Solomon Islands forest industry. In particular, special thanks are
due to:
In the Solomon Islands
Mr Edward Kingmele, CBE, and the staff of the Ministry of Forestry, Solomon Islands Government, particularly Julius Houria, Technical Advisor to Value Added
Timber Association (VATA)
Mr Ross Andrewartha and Mr Peter Baldwin of the
Solomon Islands Forest Management Project
Mr Austin Holmes, Secretary, Solomon Islands Forestry Association
Mr Andy Page, Acting General Manager, Kolombangara Forest Products Limited and staff of KFPL
In Australia
Mr Phil Montgomery, formerly Project Director,
SIFMP
Mr Dan Raymond, formerly Team Leader, SIFMP
Mr Peter Mussett, Managing Director, The Woodage
Mr Brad Burns, NSW & Victoria Region Timber Purchasing Manager, Bunnings
Mr Ken Groves, of the Australian National University
and an expert of appropriate sawmilling systems
Mr Ian Sedger of Pentarch Forest Products Pty Ltd,
Australia’s largest exporter of logs to China, offered
time and patience in explaining shipping costs and the
intricacies of the China log market.
In New Zealand
Mr Alan Smith, WWF, Solomon Islands
Mr Chris Vincent, Director, South Pacific Timber,
Auckland.
Mr Vincent D. Nomae, Manager of Economics Department, Central Bank of Solomon Islands
Mr Malcolm Scott, Chairman of Imported Tropical
Timbers Group of New Zealand.
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Acronyms
€
AusAID
CBSI
CIF
CIFOR
European Euro
Australian Agency for International Development
Central Bank of the Solomon Islands
Cost Insurance Freight (CIF) at port of unloading
Centre for International Forestry Research.
cubm
cubic metre
EPPL
Eagon Pacific Plantation Ltd
FAS
FD
Free Alongside Ship
Forestry Division, Ministry of Forestry
FOB
Free on Board (FOB) price at port of loading
GTI
Global Trade Information Services, Inc.
ITTO
KD
KFPL
International Tropical Timber Organisation
Kiln dried
Kolombangara Forest Products Limited
MIS
Market Information Service of the International Tropical Timber Organisation
MoF
Ministry of Forestry
NFPDP
National Forestry Plantation Development Program
RAMSI
Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands
RMB
sed
SFA
SI
SIFMP
SIG
T&G
US$
Chinese Renmenbi (yuan)
Small end diameter
Solomon Islands Forestry Association
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands Forest Management Project
Solomon Islands Government
Tongue in groove
United States dollar
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Summary
The Solomon Islands is an archipelago of over 138 islands in
the south-west Pacific and has a population of 581,318 which
is dominantly Melanesian. 80% of the population live in
rural areas.
Forests cover over 80% of the country and contribute significantly to the social, environmental and economic well-being
of the country. Commercial logging in natural forests
provides significant income to the Solomon Islands Government through export duties and to landowners through
royalties. The export of logs (1.4 million m3 in 2008) provides over 70% of export earnings and 18% of total Government revenue and is currently the major source of
employment in rural areas. All logs are exported to Asia with
China being the dominant market. Whilst highly significant
for the Solomon Islands, its annual harvest of logs is small by
global standards. A small plantation-based sub-sector has
been developed and is being promoted to complement industries based on the native forests
parency, creating an industry that is characterised by rumour,
misinformation and mistrust.
The Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade in Pacific
(FACT) Project operates within the Secretariat of the Pacific
Community and aims to assist selected commercial ventures
and producer groups into export-oriented, market-driven
enterprises that will consistently supply overseas markets
with competitive products. This commissioned report, seeks
to offer a foundation of knowledge as the basis for a market
information system for Solomon Islands timbers through the
identification of sources of price information; evaluation of
value-adding options; providing information on markets and
prices for plantation grown teak and potential markets and
prices for Flueggea poles, and; exploration of new market
opportunities for wooden handicrafts blocks of speciality
timbers.
The current levels of export-based harvesting of logs from
natural forests cannot be sustained and the industry will face
severe and unavoidable resource shortages in the near future.
This situation is acknowledged by the logging industry. The
anticipated demise of this sector has significant and
potentially severe implications for the national economy,
government revenue streams and rural employment.
The forestry industry in the Solomon Islands operates in extremely remote areas and there is limited knowledge of the
broader value chain and the markets of Asia. This has led to
misconceptions and a lack of information and lack of trans-
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1
Introduction
carriers, processors)
The FACT Project
The Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade in Pacific (FACT) Project operates within the Secretariat of
the Pacific Community and aims to assist selected
commercial ventures and producer groups into exportoriented, market-driven enterprises that will consistently supply overseas markets with competitive products.
FACT activities are undertaken within the 14 Pacific
ACP countries, viz. Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States
of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue,
Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands,
Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The objectives of the FACT Project are to increase
competitiveness of Pacific exports through:
•
Value chain analyses
•
Advice on sustainable production techniques,
quarantine, food safety and quality standards
•
Training of managers and operators (producers,
•
Provision of post-harvest processing equipment
and storage facilities
•
Assessment of new crops and products
•
Marketing skills.
This study in the Solomon Islands seeks to contribute
to the development of a market information system for
Solomon Islands timbers through the identification of
sources of price information for their timbers; evaluation of value-adding options; offering advice on markets and prices for plantation grown teak and potential
markets and prices for Flueggea poles, and; exploration of new market opportunities for wooden handicrafts blocks of speciality timbers.
Figure 1.1 Solomon Islands location. Note the container ports at Noro and Honiara.
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The Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands is an archipelago of over 138
islands in nine provinces in the south-west Pacific and
has a total land area of 28 450 sq km (Figure 1.1). The
population of 581 318 is dominantly Melanesian
(94.5%) with small communities of Polynesian (3%),
Micronesian (1.2%) and other peoples (1.1%) 1. 80% of
the population live in rural areas.
The climate is tropical monsoonal, the soils are generally fertile and the terrain is rugged with the highest
mountain, Makarakomburu, at 2447 metres. The country’s main commercial natural resources are its forests,
fish and minerals. Land is primarily held in customary
ownership, and access to forest resources requires the
consent of the traditional owners.
Figure 1.2 The natural forest logging sector and the
Solomon Islands’ economy (Andrewartha 2008)
Solomon Islands’ forestry sector
Forests cover over 80% of the country and contribute
significantly to the social, environmental and economic
well-being of the country. Commercial logging in natural forests provides significant income to the Solomon
Islands Government (SIG) through export duties and
to landowners through royalties (URS 2006). The export of logs provides over 70% of export earnings and
18% of total Government revenue and is currently the
major source of employment in rural areas (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.3 Log Exports from the Solomon Islands, Q1 &
All logs are exported to Asia with China, at 69%, being
Q2 2008. Source: CBSI Quarterly Reports 2008a & b
the dominant market (Figure 1.3).
The communities and traditional landowners receive
benefit from logs exports through a sharing of
revenues. The revenue derived from a log export is allocated as: 60% to the logging comSolomon
Islands Forestry
pany, 25% duty payable to Customs (SIG
Industry
government) and 15% for the Licensee (Baldwin, pers. comm). The Licensee has the Timber Rights to the logging concession and an
agreement with the communities connected to
Natural Forests
Plantation forests
the logging concession through the Timber
Rights process. It is up to the licensee and the
community in their Technology Agreement, to
establish what benefits the landowners and
Community
Sawn Timber:
communities get from the logging operation;
Round Logs:
Industrial
• ~ 6000+ m³/year
Plantations:
•2008: 1.45 M m³
Plantations:
normally US$ 5–7/m³ plus infrastructure
•Restricted high
•~ 6000 ha
• 5 x sustainable
•~ 25 000ha
quality timber
•Avg. size 0.5 ha
yield
(roads, buildings etc).
•Mainly
Eucalypt,
species
• ~ 70% teak, 15%
• Chinese market
Gmelina and teak
• Portable small
mahogany, 10%
•Important
The tropical hardwood species of the Solomon
Two companies:
scale milling
eucalypt
government
KFPL
&
EPPL
•Container
•Majority < 7 yr old
Islands (Table 1.1) are generally similar to
revenue
(Western
Province)
exported
• Varied quality
those from Papua New Guinea and have found
market niches in Asia and the Pacific where
they are used for plywood, furniture, flooring
Figure 1.4. Components in the Solomon Islands forestry sector. Source:
and construction.
Roundlogs (Andrewartha 2008); Sawn timber extrapolated from MoF
The Australian Government has had a long(2008); Industrial plantations extrapolated from URS ( 2006); and community plantations from NFPDP (2008)
standing program of support for the Solomon
Islands forestry sector through a number of bistantially to the establishment of the commercial planlateral development assistance projects. The Comtation resource on the island of Kolombangara and the
monwealth Development Corporation contributed subEuropean Union is providing significant support to the
sector. In addition, many NGOs provide support and
1
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldencouragement to forestry activities undertaken by
factbook/geos/bp.html
communities.
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DRAFT
Industrial logging of natural forests and log exports
dominate the Solomon Islands forestry sector with the
plantations component of the sector playing a small
role (Figure 1.4).
In 2008, some 1 450 000m³ of logs were exported.
Similar high exports have been recorded for the last
four years and greatly exceed the estimated sustainable
annual cut of 353 000m³/yr (URS 2006).
Table 1.1 Major commercial species in the Solomon Islands’ forestry sector
Commodity
Round logs for export
Species
Trade name
Palaquium
pencil cedar, red silkwood, nyatoh
Pometia pinnata
akwa, taun,
Calophyllum spp.
kalofilum
Pouteria spp (syn. Planchonella)
red/white pouteria
Gonystylus macrophyllus
ramin
Schizomeria serrata
beabea, pink birch
Dillenia spp
simpoh
Terminalia brassii
brown terminalia
Canarium indicum
gnali
Burkella spp
red silkwood, nyatoh
Celtis spp
hard/light celtis
Alstonia scholaris
milky pine
Dysoxylum spp
red dysoxylon
Endospermum medullosum
basswood
Amoora cucullata
amoora/ pacific maple
Parinari papuana
busu plum
Maranthes corymbosa
busu plum
Campnosperma brevipetiolatum
campnosperma
Agathis macrophylla***
agathis, vanikolo kauri
Syzygium spp
water gum
Vitex cofassus*
vasa, Vitex
Restricted species — export
Pterocarpus indicus
rosewood
restricted to processed wood
Intsia bijuga**
kwila , merbau
products (Regulation 3 under Agathis macrophylia
kauri
the FRU Act)
Dracontomelon dao
walnut
Gmelina moluccana
canoe tree , white beech
Canarium spp
Calamus spp
rattan
Common sawn timber spePterocarpus indicus
rosewood
cies
Intsia bijuga
kwila, merbau
Vitex cofassus
vasa, vitex
Pometia pinnata
taun, akwa
Carvings
Cordia subcordata
kerosene wood
Diospyros spp
ebony
Pterocarpus indicus
rosewood
Intsia bijuga
kwila, merbau,
Cocos nucifera
coconut
Gmelina moluccana
canoe tree , white beech
Xanthostemon melanoxylon
tubi
Plantation species
Tectona grandis
teak,
Swietenia macrophylla
mahogany,
Gmelina arborea
white teak
Eucalyptus deglupta
kamarere, bagras, leda
Acacia mangium
mangium, salwood, black wattle
Ochroma lagopus
balsa
*Currently restricted (must be processed before export) (pers.com. A. Holmes 12/08)
**listed as a species available for round log export and not in restricted species, but not often exported because of poor form.
***Listed in the determined value schedule (for round log export) but is a restricted species
Sources: Eddowes (2005) and SIG (2008).
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Natural Forest Wood Flows 1995-2055
Challenges to the
management of
natural forests
1600000
1400000
Predicted
Volume(m³)
The Central Bank of the Solo1200000
mon Islands has questioned the
sustainability of the current rate
1000000
of log extraction (CBSI 2008:
17). At current rates of log har800000
vest, it is estimated that the re600000
source will be largely depleted
by 2011 (Figure 1.5). An esti400000
mated 6.2 million cubic metres
Sustainable Yield (255 000m³/year)
of commercial timber remains in
200000
the forests of the Solomon Islands and Ago (2008) suggests
0
that the rate of harvest should be
1995
2045
2050
2055
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
2035
2040
reduced to 155 000m³/year to
Year
enable the forests to recover
over the next 40 years. URS
Figure 1.5. Natural forest wood flows 1995–2055 (URS 2006; Konairamo 2008; Ago
(2006) have assessed non2008 and Solomon Islands Customs data)
declining yield at 353 000m³/yr
only if the annual cut was reduced to 248 000 m³/yr from 2006 to 2050. This apPlantations
pears unlikely to happen.
The plantation sub-sector was originally established as
The current levels of export-based harvesting of logs
an initiative of the Solomon Islands Government. It has
from natural forests cannot be sustained and the
developed into two distinct components; industrial and
industry will face severe and unavoidable resource
smallholder-based (Figure 1.4).
shortages in the near future. This situation is
acknowledged by the logging industry. The anticipated
Two companies, Kolombangara Forest Products Ltd
demise of this sector has significant and potentially
and Eagon Pacific Plantations Ltd, manage the comsevere implications for the national economy,
mercial plantations resource of about 25 000 ha in SI.
government revenue streams and rural employment.
Both of these companies are based in Western Province
where plantation conditions are favourable. The plantaFuture natural forest wood flow projections are based
tion resource is maturing and has limited expansion
on the assumption that ‘re-entry’ logging will not occur
opportunities due to a finite land-base. Main species
(URS 2006). Premature re-entry can jeopardize the
that are currently harvested are Eucalyptus deglupta
forest’s ability to recovery and consequently affect
and Gmelina arborea, with smaller amounts of teak
future wood flow. Unfortunately this is already occur(Tectona grandis), mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)
ring (Andrewartha, 2008) and an analysis of recent
and native species (Campnosperma brevipetiolatum
annual harvest plans submitted to the Ministry indicate
and Terminalia brassii)
that some 25% of these plans cover areas previously
subject to logging (Baldwin, pers.com.) In addition to
The smallholder plantations component currently comthe impact on future woodflows, this will increase the
prises about 6000 ha of small blocks about 0.5 ha in
proportion of smaller size logs (URS 2006). Whilst the
size and is scattered across many islands and is supdynamics of growth and regeneration of natural forests
ported by a national extension program. About 70% of
are well understood, there appears to be a lack of inthis resource is teak. The component has the potential
formation surrounding the costs and prices paid within
to make a positive contribution to the Solomon Islands
the logging industry. Whilst this is understandable for
via an increased plantation estate, direct rural income
an industry that operates in extremely remote areas,
and employment in growing, harvesting and processing
this lack of information and lack of transparency has
of plantation timbers. Smallholder plantations are excreated an industry that is characterised by rumour,
pected to deliver significant incomes to landowners
misinformation and mistrust. Limited knowledge of the
from 2025 onwards provided high standards of manlogging value chain and the markets of Asia have led to
agement are maintained and issues of logistics are admisconceptions and a range of unfulfilled expectations.
dressed.
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Sources of Price Information
for Solomon Islands Timbers
Transparency in price information along the logging
value chain helps communities assess the true worth of
logging proposals. Price information assists potential
buyers to evaluate and select Solomon Islands as a
source of tropical hardwood and this information assists those responsible for predicting and collecting
national tax revenues. Trade in tropical hardwood logs
faces challenges not shared with other commodities.
Log shipments are not homogenous (like a shipment of
wheat or iron ore for example) and represent a heterogeneous grouping of products (logs) of varying size
and quality which are used for different products, influencing potential prices paid.
Japan. Figure 2.2 provides up-to-date shipping rates for
Handy size vessels (yellow line) and confirms the
tility in shipping rates
(http://www.dryships.com/index.cfm?get=report). It is
expected that the shipping markets for smaller vessels
(6000–12 000 dwt) commonly used for Solomon Island
log trade will reflect a similar pattern of volatility however this study was unable to locate accurate shipping
rates for the Solomon Islands – China/Vietnam logging
trade for the 6 – 8000 tonne vessels normally used.
Figure 2.1 also demonstrates the benefits (and risks)
gained through long-term shipping hire. It is common
for those involved in the log trade to be charged the
spot rates because long-term steady supplies of logs
can not be guaranteed. Contributing to vessel hire times
and high shipping costs from the Solomon Islands are
slow loading rates of vessels (reportedly about 3 days)
in the Solomon Islands, up to 3 ports for loading, and
slow unloading from these small vessels in China plus
an estimated 7 days steaming time to market ports. In
late 2008, industry sources reported shipping costs for
logs were about US$93/m3 from SI to China ports.
Factors influencing log prices
On the supply side, log prices are influenced by the
cost of extraction, the cost of infrastructure to facilitate
harvesting and extraction and issues such as yield from
the forests, labour rates, social costs and capital and
fuel costs. Andrewartha (2008) suggests that these domestic costs will increase in the Solomon Islands as
more inaccessible and remote forests are logged and
recoveries from re-entry logging are reduced and
smaller diameter logs are exported.
50000
40000
Spot rate
1 year rate
3 year rate
30000
20000
10000
30/04/08
31/01/08
31/10/07
31/07/07
30/04/07
31/01/07
31/10/06
31/07/06
30/04/06
31/01/06
31/10/05
31/07/05
30/04/05
31/01/05
31/07/04
30/04/04
31/01/04
31/10/03
31/07/03
30/04/03
0
31/01/03
The volatility of international
shipping rates is demonstrated in
Figure 2.1 which displays the
daily hire rates between 2002
and 2008 for Handy size vessels
(27 000 dwt), commonly used
for log export from Australia
and New Zealand to China and
60000
31/10/02
Shipping
Handysize (27,000 dwt) spot rates vs period rates
31/07/02
There are many factors on the
market side which will influence
the prices offered for logs. Significant among these is a reputation for reliability, quality and
consistency; a series of bad
shipments can have long-lasting
impacts on prices. Some other
factors influencing prices include:
31/10/04
2
Figure 2.1 Daily hire rates for Handy size vessels 2002–2008. Spot rates (red), yearly
contract rates (blue), 3-year contact rates (green). Courtesy Stratus Shipping, Melbourne.
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DRAFT
Figure 2.2 Daily hire chart for Handy size vessels (yellow line). http://www.dryships.com/index.cfm?get=report
Figure 2.3 China’s log imports by country 2006–2008 (Source: International Woodmarkets 2009a)
coumea klaineana) and Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum).
Competition with other sources of logs
The main markets for logs from the Solomon Islands
are in Asia and China is the largest single market (Figure 1.3) with expanding interest in Vietnam. These
markets also source their logs from several other countries with which Solomon Islands must compete.
China is the world’s largest importer of logs and
sources its logs globally with Russia being by far the
dominant supplier. Over the past 3 years, Solomon
Islands has represented a small, but significant, part of
Chinese log imports (Figure 2.3).
The Chinese market is extremely price-sensitive and
within this market, Solomon Islands logs face considerable competition from West Africa, PNG and Malaysia. Among the better-known competing species from
Africa are Iroko (Chlorophora excelsa), Okoume (Au-
Processing cycles and factory
inventories
Processors of tropical hardwood logs synchronise their
operations with the demands of the market place and
6
DRAFT
this is reflected by cyclical demand patterns throughout
the year. Factories try to maintain their inventories of
raw materials to meet the needs of current and anticipated orders. High prices for logs can be negotiated
when log inventories in processing factories are low
and anticipated demand for processed product is
strong; however, prices soften when the inventories of
factories are high or when demand for product slackens. The cycles of log supply from the Solomons may
not be attuned to the cycles of demand at processing
centres and this offers challenges to the sellers of logs.
been delayed to late 2009, the projected reduction in
Russian log production and exports in combination
with higher log export costs (due to the current 25%
tax with a minimum of Euro 15/m3) is increasingly
putting pressure on global log markets. China, Japan,
Scandinavia and the Baltics have already incurred major negative fall-out as a result of the 25% log export
tax — to the point where new wood supply strategies
have been rapidly implemented. Whilst Russia’s log
exports are primarily temperate softwoods, changes of
such magnitude will influence all log trade.
Processers’ demands for logs to suit their
business
Some key market reactions to Russia’s current 25% log
export tax and proposed 80% log export tax:
Processers seek access to logs which are tailored to
best meet the needs of the business. Whilst there are
obvious differences between species and grades of
logs, not all processors require large Grade 1 logs for
their business. The log needs for a rotary veneer business are different to those for an outdoor furniture
business or a flooring business and these companies
will pay different amounts for the same log. In addition, some processors have access to machinery and
technologies which allow them to make best economic
use of some log grades. Industry sources suggest that
logs from Solomon Islands are generally larger than
those from PNG and command higher CIF prices in the
Chinese and Vietnamese markets despite higher shipping costs. Fashions in colour for furniture and other
wood products change and this influences market demand and ultimately the prices paid for logs.
•
The volume of Russian softwood log exports will
plummet through to 2012 as a direct result of the
log export tax schedule. Supply is expected to
steadily decrease to Russia’s seven largest softwood log export markets.
• Global log trade disruptions from Russia will create new log export opportunities for major global
softwood log exporters, especially in the key Asian
markets of China, Japan, and South Korea.
• It is now expected that new capital investment in
the Russian wood products industry will be delayed or be minimal at best following the collapse
of many smaller logging and wood product manufacturing companies in 2008.
International Wood Markets:
http://www.woodmarkets.com/Press%20Releases/09-0126%20FINAL%20Press%20Release
%20for%20Full%20Russia%20Log%20Export%20Tax%20
Rept1%20RT.pdf
International influences
The Solomon Islands logging industry is influenced by
larger issues shaping global trade in logs. The current
economic crises is placing enormous pressures upon
the international log trade. Timber traders continued to
struggle at the beginning of 2009, with prices falling
for many of the major species in tropical producer and
consumer countries. Some suppliers are overstocked
because of reduced demand from processors and traders are cutting prices where stocks are high. China’s
furniture exports also slowed in the fourth quarter of
2008 and Vietnam’s furniture industry is facing strong
financial challenges as European and North American
demand has slumped dramatically(ITTO, 2009b).
Gabon bans harvest of four major timber species.
Very slow market conditions continue in West Africa.
However, significantly, the government of Gabon indicated that from 1 January 2009, four major species of
timber, afo, douka, moabi and ozigo, are no longer
permitted to be harvested. Producers will have three
months in which to dispose of all stocks of these species. The impact of this measure on market prices and
the volume of annual harvest in Gabon has yet to be
assessed. Moabi is a major species for the market in
France, although French importers are currently overstocked with moabi. Despite this, there may be a rush
to secure the limited stocks that remain in the pipeline.
Although individually the volumes of each of the four
species are not that significant, the ban will mean a
noticeable reduction in the harvest volumes per hectare.
This is expected to impact the viability of some concession areas. At this stage, there is no information as
to whether or not concession holders will be able to
increase annual allowable concession areas or harvest
volumes per hectare of other species to compensate for
the lower output (ITTO 2009a).
Restrictions on log exports from other producing countries change the demand for SI logs. Recent changes in
Russian log exports (although primarily softwoods)
and logging bans in West Africa are among recent international influences which may shape the Solomon
Islands export log industry.
Russia’s increased log tariffs. While Russia’s move to
an 80% log export tax (or minimum Euro 50/m3) has
7
DRAFT
Cancellation of logging in Democratic Republic of
Congo. After a review of 156 logging deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the government
has cancelled nearly 60% of timber contracts in the
country’s rainforests, reported the BBC. The investigations, backed by the World Bank, were conducted with
the view to exposing corruption and enforcing environmental standards. The investigations concluded that
only 65 of the existing deals were viable. The government notified the relevant companies of the cancelled
contracts and indicated new contracts would be issued
for 90,000 square kilometres of forest area (ITTO
2009b).
Table 2.1 Chinese exports of wood products: 2007 vs 2008
(International Woodmarkets 2009b)
Volume
(x000 m3)
Products
2008
Value
(USD millions)
2007 Change 2008 2007 Change
(%)
(%)
Wooden doors 302700 337835 –10.4
(tons)
Plywood
Fiberboard
Particleboard
Reduced demand in response to the global economic
crises. The global financial crisis and the slowing demand in international markets (especially the US market) has created a slow down in Chinese wood products
exports in 2008.This stress in the Chinese market will
have an impact on demand for SI logs. 2008 figures
show that international demand for Chinese wood
products dipped markedly from 2007, with the exception of particleboard (Table 2.1). China Customs reports that a total of 167 million pieces of wood
furniture valued at USD 6.8 billion was exported in
2008 year. This represented a 12.5% drop in volume,
but a 2.8% increase in value from 2007. (International
Woodmarkets 2009b)
7177
2683
193
8773
3256
183
542
557
–2.6
–18.2 3398 3577 –5.0
–17.6 1,092 1,083 0.8
5.7
46
35 30.2
Table 2.2 Chinese log imports by country and value 2007
Vs 2008. (International Woodmarkets 2009b).
Volume (x000 m3)
China is one of largest raw materials importers of wood
in the world and log and lumber imports have increased
rapidly since 1999 to feed China’s huge demand in its
domestic real estate industry, as well as its export market factories. However, 2008 has reversed this trend as
China’s log import volume has decreased mainly from
lower wood products exports, as well as from highercost logs as a result of Russia’s rising log export tax.
Nearly 29.6 million m³ of logs valued at about USD5.2
billion were imported into China in 2008, a downward
trend of 20.3% by volume and 3.1% by value from the
year of 2007 (Table 2.2). The import volume and value
of hardwood logs dropped 20.5% and 6%, respectively;
11 million m³ by volume and nearly USD2.8 billion in
value (International Woodmarkets 2009b).
Value (USD millions)
Country
2008
Russia
PNG
New Zealand
Solomon
Islands
Gabon
Malaysia
Myanmar
Australia
Others
Total
18665 25396 –26.5 2560 2706
2230
2341 –4.8 413 415
1909
1270 50.3 246 154
–5.4
–0.5
59.8
1159
16.7
2007 Change 2008 2007 Change
(%)
(%)
1049
1077
1150
817
1331
490
718
430
490
2794
3346
29570 37091
10.5
212
182
–6.4 415 396
4.9
–38.7 173 249 –30.8
–31.7 178 138 29.0
–12.3 50
54
–6.3
–16.5 935 1058 –11.6
–20.3 5182 5351 –3.1
diversity of species within a shipment increases. Uniformity in species and log grade lessens market risk
and will offers negotiation benefits. Unfortunately,
owing to the diversity and the relatively small size of
the Solomon Islands resource, it is challenging to maintain uniformity in log shipments without creating
waste.
The Solomon Islands is one of the few countries exporting tropical hardwood logs to experience an increase in export volume to China in 2008; increasing
from 1.05M m3 in 2007 to 1.16M m3 in 2008, an increase of 10.5%. Recent informal reports from the
Solomon Islands Forestry Association indicate that
Chinese trade in tropical logs from the Solomon Islands is becoming very tight in late 2008 and early
2009.
Influence of certification
Forest certification is limited in the Solomon Islands
because the areas are relatively small and the certification costs are high. The only operation with FSC certification is Kolombangara Forest Products Limited
(KFPL). Based on information from industry interviews, and given the limited long-term future for logging in Solomon Islands native forests, there appeared
to be little conviction that certification offers commercial benefits. Some markets (particularly the furniture
markets of Vietnam) need certified timber to meet client needs in Europe and North America. In such cases,
certified logs can command a premium over non-
Quality and uniformity
It is more difficult to market a shipload of mixed species than a shipload of fewer species. Not all buyers are
keen to buy all species and marketing risks increase as
8
DRAFT
certified logs. The magnitude of this premium is uncertain and depends upon product demand and factory
inventories. Certification does, however, offer opportunities to growers and managers of small forests via
the FSC Group Certification processes.
similar species in the Asia Pacific region, FOB prices
declared by exporters in the Solomon Islands, and
movements in the CIF price of logs declared in destination countries adjusted for the cost of freight and insurance. Changes to the Determined Values may be made
based on recommendations from the Commissioner of
Forests, who uses information collected from Solomon
Islands export data and published data from sources
such as the International Tropical Timber Organisation
(ITTO), Japan Lumber Journal and Papua New Guinea
Forest Service More recently, changes have involved
joint review with the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands, the Ministry of Finance and the Forestry Division (URS 2006). Table 2.3 offers the current
Determined Value schedule issued by the Ministry of
Finance and Treasury, 24 April 2008. This schedule
offers a excellent initial resource for price information.
Sources of information on log
prices
Solomon Islands Government
The importance of the logging industry to the economy
of Solomon Islands has been discussed in Chapter 1. In
addition to the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of
Finance, the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands and
the Customs Department all have a strong and obvious
interest in the log export sector. To protect the sovereign interests of the people of the Solomon Islands and
to ensure that the SIG can anticipate revenue streams
from logging and to remove ambiguity, a Determined
Value system has been developed.
The Determined Value schedule is not without its critics. Within the logging industry, there is resentment
that the Determined Value Schedule is inflexible and
Table 2.3 Current Determined Value Schedule in the Solomon
Islands. Legal Notice 32, Ministry of Finance and Treasury,
24 April 2008
The Determined Value system
The schedule of Determined Values (sometimes referred to as Determined Prices) is used by the Solomon
Islands Department of Customs and Excise to calculate
duty on exported native forest logs. The Solomon Islands Government is not a native forest resource owner
itself, however the Government has the role of ensuring
that exporters are paying export duty based on a fair
market price for the exported logs.
Price (USD/m3)
The Determined Value System has been in place since
September 1998. Under this system, market prices
(‘Determined Values’) for certain species and grades of
log are periodically gazetted by the Controller of Customs under the Customs and Excise Act. Duty on exported logs is based on the Determined Values rather
than the invoice amount (URS 2004).
The system addresses the concerns expressed by the
Central Bank of the Solomon Islands that some logging
companies may be engaged in transfer pricing and under reporting of log values (CBSI 2007).
In addition to setting the duty payable, this system has
a number of advantages, including:
•
Providing current log prices and log price trends to
companies and landowners. This information can
be used by companies to negotiate log sales and by
landowners to ensure their logs are sold at rates
that give them equitable returns; and
• It ensures the Forest Department tracks, and is
aware of, log prices and price movements.
The Determined Values (Table 2.3) is set by the Comptroller of Customs, usually on the basis of recommendations from the Commissioner of Forests who
considers a number of factors, including log sales of
Species
Regular Small
grade
grade
Super
small
grade
Intsia bijuga (kwila)
Vitex (vasa)
Palaquium (pencil cedar)
Calophyllum
Pometia (taun, akwa)
Planchonella
Schizomeria (beabea)
Dillenia
Gonystylus (ramin)
Terminalia brassii
Terminalia (except
T. brassii)
Terminalia calamansanai
Canarium (gnali)
Burkella
Celtis
Alstonia (milky pine)
Dysoxyllum
Eugenia (water gum)
Endospermum
Amoora
Campnospcrma
Maranthes
Mixed species
Parinari
126
126
98.5
98.50
98.50
98.50
87.50
82
87.50
87.50
82
115
115
87.50
87.50
87.50
87.50
76.50
71
76.50
76.50
65.5
109.50
109.50
82
82
82
82
71
65.50
71
71
65.5
63.50
63.50
63.50
63.50
58
58
58
58
58
76.50
76.5
76.5
76.5
76.5
76.5
76.5
76.5
76.5
76.5
68
68
68
65.5
65.5
65.5
65.5
65.5
65.5
65.5
65.5
65.5
65.5
62
62
62
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
53.5
53.5
53.5
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
49.5
49.5
49.5
9
Low
grade
DRAFT
does not accurately reflect the dynamics and risks associated with the international trade in tropical hardwoods, particularly the trade with China. Whilst
offering a thorough understanding of the parameters
involved in the international trade of tropical hardwood
round logs (Battersby 2008), the Solomon Island logging industry argues that values assigned to parameters
within the formula used in establishing the Determined
Value are unrealistic.
crease in prices prompt the question as to whether Determined Values should be reduced in line with international trading dynamics.
There appears to be a strong congruence between the
Determined Value and the FOB prices quoted on
commercial invoices for export. Rarely do FOB prices
exceed the Determined Value. The Independent Review of the Determined Value Schedules (URS 2006)
noted this and observed that the charts show that there
has been little variation from the previous Determined
Values over the 29-month period for which the data
were examined despite improved CIF values during the
period. Figure 2.4 offers an example from the report
comparing FOB data for Grade 2 species with the Determined Value. Similar patterns existed with logs from
all other grades.
Specifically, they believe that the existing system confers an unrealistic agents commission (6% of CIF) and
does not account for volatile shipping rates using small
size vessels (c. 6 - 12 000 tonnes). Trade in tropical
hardwood logs, especially in China, faces challenges
which are not reflected in normal agent’s fees for other
commodities. A shipment of logs is not a uniform
commodity of, say, 12 000 tonnes but rather a shipment
of 2000 individual items (logs), the price for all of
which will be argued and negotiated at the final point
of sale. Chinese log trade is characterised by arguments
over payments against Letters of Credit, downgrade of
log standards by buyers and insurance claims. Industry
informants in Australia suggest that a realistic agent’s
fee for the China trade in tropical hardwood logs is
closer to 12% (than the 6% allowed in the Determined
Value schedule)
Spot rates for international shipping can change
quickly from month to month (Figures 2.1 and 2.2) and
ships may not arrive if they receive a better-paying
cargo elsewhere.
The Solomon Islands Forestry Association argues that
the world markets for tropical hardwood logs are dynamic and fast moving and each log shipment reflects
this dynamism, whereas the process for the Determined
Value schedule is slow. Recent reduced demand for
hardwood logs in China and other markets and a de-
Figure 2.4 FOB price trends for regular grade Group 2 species (2003– 006) and relation with Determined Value (URS 2006)
10
DRAFT
Economics and Marketing Division,
MoF Database. Within the Ministry of Forestry, the
Economics and Marketing Division has responsibility
for maintaining records relating to log prices and exports. In 2001, the Ministry of Forestry developed a
‘Log Export Database’ to monitor the licensing and
export of round logs from the Solomon Islands. Employees of the Economics and Marketing Division operate the database. However, in 2006 it underwent
modification and is still awaiting loading and changes
to the new server in the MoF. It is used to capture critical information from data provided by log exporters
and to generate reports that are used by management
and staff of the MoF and other government departments. Information can also be extracted to report on
the market trends in any review of Determined Values.
Since 2006 the database (see Figure 2.5) has not been
in operation, but some processed data and the hard copies are available upon request and approval from MoF
(subject to respect for corporate confidentiality). It is
expected that the database will become operational
again by late March 2009, although it is uncertain how
missed historical data will be treated. When functional,
the Log Export Database will represent the most up-todate source of information on FOB log prices. A component of this database is maintained by the Commercial Bank of the Solomon Islands (CBSI).
Figure 2.5 Schematic representation of the log export database (Ministry of Forestry 2001)
In addition to the data available via the revamped log
export database, the MoF maintains hard copies of all
documents submitted during the export application
process. Edited samples of these documents for both
round logs and sawn timber exports for February 2008
are provided in Annex 5.
Solomon Islands Forest Management
Project (SIFMP)
Figure 2.6 Annual log export volumes and average prices
(US$/m3), 1999–2007. Source: CBSI, Annual Report 2007
The Solomon Islands Forest Management Project
(SIFMP) is a bilateral project supported by The Australian Government’s AusAID and seeks to support the
management of natural forests; growth of the forest
estate through plantation development; revenue collection (from log exports) by landowners and the Government; and the capacity of the Forestry Division
(FD) to effectively support and regulate this key sector
of the Solomon’s economy
(http://www.ap.urscorp.com/_business/prjinx.asp?BDY
=57 ). Over many years, the SIFMP has produced a
number of documents which are helpful for those interested in log and timber sales. Among these are:
•
Marketing Plantation Teak and Mahogany Grown
in the Solomon Islands, 2003
•
A Manual for Sellers Exporting Small Consignments of Logs or Sawn Timber, 2004
Independent Determined Price Review, 2004
Solomon Islands Timbers, 2005
•
•
Figure 2.7 Quarterly log export volumes and average prices
(US$/ m3), 2005–2008. Source: CBSI, Quarterly Report, 3rd
Quarter 2008
11
DRAFT
•
Review and Strategy Plan for Capacity
Building in the Small-Scale Sawmilling Sector of the Solomon Islands, 2005
Table 2.4 Documents available from CBSI and forest related information (available from http://www.cbsi.com.sb/index.php?id=8, unless
stated)
•
Review of Determined Prices, 2006
Document
Summary Report
(Quarterly):
Round log export
approvals data¹ –
(specific authority)
Central Bank of the Solomon Islands (CBSI)
Within the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands
(CBSI) , the Foreign Exchange Department maintains a database of log prices and records for average prices for species, volume and value
(Figures 2.6 and 2.7). This database is a sub-set of
that being used by the Ministry of Forestry.
Commercial invoices and customs documents are
the primary source of information. The CBSI also
relies upon the World Bank Commodities Review
(see below) for information on all commodities
prices and trends.
•
•
AVAILABLE
ON REQUEST
Quarterly Review²
•
•
•
Additional information from the CBSI related to
log and timber exports is outlined in Table 2 4.
Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division
The Customs and Excise Division collects log
export data as the basis for collection of tax revenues. This data is not published and is maintained
at generic levels with no detail down to species
and log grade levels. However, Customs data
represents the actual volumes and values of logs
exported and these data should enter the Log Export Database under ‘Final Invoices’. Figure 2.8
shows average monthly FOB log prices for 2008
and is derived from unofficial Customs data
Average monthly price for SI logs (FOB), 2008
Annual Review²
•
•
Monthly Economic Bulletin
700
600
Price (SI $)
500
400
300
200
100
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Month
Figure 2.8 . 2008 average monthly price for Solomon
Islands logs (SI$/m3). Source: Unofficial data. Customs
and Excise Division.
•
•
Relevant Information
Monthly table:
o Volume (m³)
o
Value (US$ & SI$)
o
Average price (m³)
o No. of applications received
Quarterly
o
Log export approvals by destination
o Log export approvals by province
Brief comments on trends in forest sector, including international prices
Graph of volume and average price of
logs (quarterly: 2005 – present)
Table of:
o
Value and volume3of exports (logs
and sawn timber4) (SI$)
o International prices of logs5 (US$)
o
Production by major commodity –
(log production6)
Analysis of forestry sector including
plantations
Graph of volume and average price of
logs (yearly: 1997 – present)
Table of:
o Government revenue – log export
duty
o Contribution of logs to GDP
o Production by major commodity –
(log production6 )
Brief comments, including:
o Number of export applications and
total volume
This is pre-shipment data approved by CBSI. Actual exports can be
obtained by the (customs) C25 form. ² Actual export figures from Customs and Excise Division and from commercial bank documents
(pers.com. V. Nomae 4/2/09. ³Figures for volume cease in 2004 due to
change in data that CBSI receives. Although the volume for round log
data is available other elsewhere, CBSI does not have information
about quantity of sawn timber after 2004. 4Sawn timber assumed to be
7% of round logs. It is unclear how this derived 5Malaysain meranti,
sale price charged by importer 6From 1997 up, log export data is used
as there are no sources for production data. This figure is different to
actual volume exported
generous in allowing access to log export data to help
understand the processes involved.
Kolombangara Forest Products Limited
(KPFL)
KFPL deals in the markets for certified plantation and
native forest timber; these are different markets to
those for the rest of the SI export log industry. KFPL
logs are sought after by processors in Japan, China and
Vietnam who have commitments to clients to use legal
certified timber in their products.
As a commercial company, the prices negotiated between clients and KFPL remain confidential, but the
company has been generous in supplying a number of
projects and initiatives with edited export data. Examples include the 2003, URS report Marketing Plantation Teak and Mahogany Grown in the Solomon
Islands. In the course of this study, KFPL was most
12
DRAFT
prices. It appears to be a buyer’s market and companies
in operation are facing very tough negotiations on
price. (ITTO 2009). This obviously places pressure
upon the prices of logs from the Solomon Islands (Figure 2.9).
International Tropical Timber
Organisation (ITTO)
The ITTO is an intergovernmental organization promoting the conservation and sustainable management,
use and trade of tropical forest resources. Its members
represent about 80% of the world’s tropical forests and
90% of the global tropical timber trade. ITTO develops
internationally agreed policy documents to promote
sustainable forest management and forest conservation
and assists tropical member countries to adapt such
policies to local circumstances and to implement them
in the field through projects. In addition, ITTO collects,
analyses and disseminates data on the production and
trade of tropical timber and funds a range of projects
and other action aimed at developing industries at both
community and industrial scales (see:
http://www.itto.or.jp ).
The Solomon Islands Forestry
Association (SFA)
The Solomon Islands Forestry Association has 44
members representing 80% of the logging companies
in SI,, all of whom are incorporated companies in the
Solomon Islands. The Association represents the industry in negotiations with SIG and acts in the collective
interests of its members. Member companies pay a
membership fee based upon the volume of logs exported of SI$1.00/ m3 /yr. Whilst most members are
reluctant to offer confidential corporate information
regarding log prices, they can offer advice relating to
likely market demands and trends.
One of the dissemination mediums used by ITTO the
Tropical Timber Market (TTM) Report, an output of
the ITTO Market Information Service (MIS). This is
published in English every two weeks with the aim of
improving transparency in the international tropical
timber market and is available at no cost following
registration.
For example, the main market for the Solomon Islands
is China and second is Vietnam which accepts lower
grade logs. There was reported to be a lack of trust
with the Indian market which has complicated interpretation of conditions attached to Letters of Credit.
Regarding market preferences, the Korean market, or
example, likes Dillenia because of its red colour. The
Chinese market appreciates Terminalia brassii but Korea does not.
ITTO supplies price information based upon data provided by participating countries. In the current economic climate, the most recent ITTO report indicates
that the downturn in trade has begun to impact log
Figure 2.9 Tropical Log FOB price Trends. ITTO, January 2009
SFA understands the dynamics of the declining resource in the Solomon Islands and expects that after
2011 (when most accessible native forests will be
logged), the industry will shrink to 3 companies – simi-
lar to 1991. Some companies are using the current economic crises to exit the SI industry.
13
DRAFT
The SFA recognises that the domestic markets are
small and the markets of the SW Pacific (incl. NZ and
Australia) are also relatively small; added to this Australia and NZ have very strict log import and quarantine procedures and this adds expense to business.
The Global Timber website
The Global Timber website
(http://www.globaltimber.org.uk) offers a critical view
of information and statistics on the global trade in
wood-based products, especially that from Africa and
East Asia. The information and charts provided are
based on published statistics of declared imports and
estimates are made where data (occasionally poor) is
anomalous. Data for China is generally sourced from
the General Administration of Customs of the People’s
Republic of China.
China Customs
China, remains the major market for logs from the
Solomon Islands and records from China Customs will
help determine prices at which timber products from
the Solomon Islands are being sold into China. These
records are used in China as the basis for payment of
import duties. Annex 3: Accessing China Customs
Data for Log and Sawn Wood Imports from the Solomon Islands (Annex 3, Katsigiris 2009) is designed to
enable the reader to order data on log and sawn wood
imports to China from the Solomon Islands. It outlines
both the options available and specific steps and costs
of obtaining such data. In addition to information on
the data options and steps to be taken to place an order
with China Customs, the Annex also provides data and
simple analysis as a ‘case study’ of an order of Chinese
Customs data. The case study covers logs and sawn
wood imports from the Solomon Islands into China in
March 2008 and is based on data obtained from China
Customs in January 2009.
Globaltimber.org maintains a report on trade in logs
from Papua New Guinea & the Solomon Islands
(http://www.globaltimber.org.uk/pngsi.htm). Table
2.10 offers data for the Solomon Islands and PNG
available from this website and confirms the rapidly
increasing levels of sales to China. Unfortunately, the
figures do not show the steadily increasing trade in logs
with Vietnam.
Table 2.5, also extracted from the
www.globaltimber.org website, indicates a steady increase in average CIF prices from US$160/m3 in 2006
to US$180/m3 in 2008.
Figure 2.10 Historical levels of exports of Papua New Guinea & the Solomon Islands logs to Asia (www.globaltimber.org)
Table 2.5 Imports of logs from the Solomon Islands declared by China. Source (China): General Administration of Customs of the
People’s Republic of China via www.globaltimber.org.
Year
Measure
2006 (average US$160/m3)
Volume (‘000 m3)
Import value (US$ million)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
46
7
51
8
49
7
95
15
61
9
36
6
Jul
94
15
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
53
8
72
12
96
16
50
8
70
14
14
DRAFT
2007 (average US$170/m3)
Volume (‘000 m3)
2008 (average to date US$180/m3)
Volume (‘000 m3)
64
12
111
21
53
10
114
21
115
22
70
13
72
13
83
13
88
14
109
17
58
9
111
18
107
18
36
6
127
24
103
19
107
21
106
19
84
16
135
25
89
16
123
23
82
15
60
10
World Trade Atlas
International Woodmarkets China Report
Global Trade Information Services, Inc. (GTI) is a
supplier of international merchandise trade data. Corporations, governments, and associations use the GTI
trade data systems to gain global trade information.
GTI has developed the World Trade Atlas which enables access to official recorded export data using the
Harmonized System (HS) Schedule B Commodity
Classification. The information in the World Trade
Atlas is generally supplied on a CD-ROM which contains the statistics and data about most goods exported
from each state to every country around the globe.
International Wood Markets Group
(http://www.woodmarkets.com) provides credible
market research and analysis in the form of a monthly
newsletter and strategic market and product multiclient reports. One such report is the monthly China
Bulletin, available through subscription.
In addition to offering broad market data provided in
Figure 2.3, Woodmarkets’ China Bulletin provides
information directly from the timber markets in
Guangzhou (Table 2.6).
The Central Bank of the Solomon Islands uses the
Meranti log trade data in the World Trade Atlas as a
proxy to benchmark Solomon Island data collected
during the process of exporting logs.
The World Bank
The World Bank produces a monthly Commodity Markets Review , a summary of global commodity prices,
including logs and sawnwood. Whilst this offers an
insight into broad global price trends it does not provide data for a community which wants to know what
their logs might be worth in the market place.
Specifically, the Atlas enables the user to:
•
Identify export products at the two-, four-, or sixdigit level from the Harmonized System (HS)
Schedule B Commodity Classification.
•
Display monthly, year-to-date, or annual data for a
3-year period.
•
Use a grouping feature to view exports by national
or international region.
•
Sort data by country, state, HS code, market share,
or percent change.
•
Examine total exports by value. Find air and vessel
exports by value and shipping weight.
•
Determine the value of a specific product and
identify the countries to which the product is being
exported.
•
Find the existing market share of each product.
•
Compare one state’s trade with that of another on a
product or country basis.
•
Identify new markets and evaluate existing ones by
method of transportation.
•
Analyse growth trends in state export trade.
During the second half of 2008, non-energy commodity prices plunged 38 percent, with most indices ending
the year significantly lower than where they started.
World Bank figures suggest that log and lumber prices
may have avoided this pattern, however market sources
suggest that suppliers are reducing logging and limiting
supply in an attempt to maintain prices.
Figure 2.11 and Table 2.7 are extracted from the World
Bank’s Commodity Markets Review, January 2009 and
indicate a softening of prices for tropical hardwood
logs.
Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB)
Table 2.6 Prices for tropical hardwood logs from SE Asia,
Guangzhou markets — East Coast, December 2008.
(http://www.woodmarkets.com)
Species and size
(diameter)
The World Trade Atlas is available through Global
Trade Information Services at:
http://www.gtis.com/english and costs an estimated
US$3600 for an annual subscription
Price per cubic metre
Range
Average
RMB
RMB
US$
Meranti >60 cm
Meranti 50–60 cm
2200–2300
1900- 2100
2250
2000
329
292
Merbau (kwila) >100 cm
4500–5300
4900
716
Merbau (kwila) 80–99 cm
Merbau (kwila) <79 cm
5400–5600
4400–5000
5500
4700
804
687
15
DRAFT
The Malaysian Timber Industry Board produces a
monthly timber bulletin with up-to-date news on the
Malaysian timber industry as well as excerpts of the
world timber industry. This bulletin, Maskayu, features
monthly export statistics, information on timber prices,
wood utilisation and market analysis, and introduces
personalities in the timber trade and industry profiles.
Access to Maskayu is through subscription at about
US$3.60 per month; http://www.mtib.gov.my .
Figure 2.11 Log and Lumber prices (US$/m3) Malaysia,
2003–2008. Source: World Bank; Commodity Markets Review, January 2009. (http://decpg.worldbank.org)
Table 2.7 Timber commodity price data (US$/m³). Source: World Bank; Commodity Markets Review, January 2009
(http://decpg.worldbank.org)
Annual averages
Commodity
LogsA, Cameroon
LogsB, Malaysia
SawnwoodC, Cameroon
SawnwoodD, Malaysia
Quarterly averages
Monthly averages
2007
2008
2009
(Jan)
4Q
2007
1Q
2008
2Q
2008
3Q
2008
4Q
2008
Nov
2008
Dec
2008
Jan
2008
381
268
760
806
527
292
958
889
470
330
698
818
409
275
838
802
530
293
1036
860
554
282
1052
935
548
278
974
900
473
316
770
859
452
316
757
872
477
327
734
845
470
330
698
818
A
Logs (West African), sapele, high quality (loyal and marchand LM), FOB Douala, Cameroon: begin January 1996, LM 80 cm +
Logs (Malaysian), meranti, Sarawak, sale price charged by importer, Tokyo; prior to February 1993, average of Sabah and Sarawak
weighted by Japanese import volumes
C
Sawnwood (Cameroonian), sapele, width 6 inches or more, length 6 feet or more. FAS Cameroonian Ports
D
Sawnwood (Malaysian), dark red seraya/meranti, select and better quality, average 7–8 inches; length average 12–14 feet; thickness
1–2 inches; kiln dry, c. & f. UK ports, with 5% agents commission; beginning 2005, includes premium ($20–$30) for products of
certified sustainable forest
B
16
DRAFT
3
Evaluation of Value-Adding Options
Adding value to logs is an important strategy for landowners and all Solomon Islanders to gain a greater
share of the benefits from their valuable forest resource. Domestic demand for sawn timber is expanding. As the living conditions of modern Solomon
Islanders change there is an increasing requirement in
urban areas for sawn timber. In rural areas, the sawntimber needs for hospitals, schools and other infrastructure are expanding. The export opportunities for processed wood products are potentially attractive.
The capacity to add value begins on the forest and includes:
•
Selection of trees
•
Felling and maintenance of log quality
•
Sawmilling
•
Seasoning (air and kiln-drying)
•
Treatment with chemicals to protect wood from
insects and fungi
•
Downstream manufacture of furniture and dressed
timber
•
Grading (for structural and appearance grades).
•
Effective marketing
Currently there is limited value-adding carried out in
SI. The most basic value added product, sawn timber,
comprises a very small proportion of the wood exported. Groves (2005) estimated that for 2001, 2003
and 2004, sawn timber exports based on the estimated
log volumes from which the sawn timber was derived
were only 1.5, 2.7 and 2% of total exports respectively.
The figures for 2008 were unavailable, but the limited
data available suggests that this would be less than
1.5%. Between 2001 and 2005, the average price for
export sawn timber increased from US$165/m3 to
US$381/ m3 (Groves 2005). There are obvious opportunities to enhance export revenue from wood exports
through value adding. Value-adding also confers opportunities for import substitution. Ironically, the
Solomon Islands imports wooden furniture and prefabricated wooden houses.
At present, value adding involves a small amount of
furniture manufacture and dressed timber and is dominated by the production of rough sawn, ungraded,
green timber to the export and domestic markets.
Sawmilling is just the beginning in terms of value adding. Further processing and other activities can add
further value but incur additional costs. Investors in
value-adding enterprises must be convinced that if they
follow the ‘value-adding’ path their net profit will go
up not down.
Value adding options vary for different species and for
different grades of log within these species. Much of
the export-focussed, value-adding in the Solomon Islands utilises a small range of species and is dominated
by 3 species; Rosewood, Kwila and Vasa whose export
as roundlogs is legally restricted.
To effectively add value across the value-chain, it is
important to maintain good quality control so that the
increased value is captured. For example, well sawn
timber may degrade in value if not air-dried correctly
or if it is damaged by insects.
Tree selection
Selecting the right tree is an important first step in effective value-adding and the size and form of the merchantable bole will dictate the sawn recovery rate.
Ideally, the merchantable bole should be straight and
have a minimum diameter of 60cm and be free of defects such as spiral grain . Some defects can result in
loss of sawn production and incur losses due to degrade
during seasoning.
Sawing
There are few functioning industrial scale sawmills in
the Solomon Islands; the Goodwood and Omex mills in
Honiara are two exceptions. A major challenge for the
mills is the reliable shipment of logs from outer islands. The larger mills, with their bandsaws, offer better recoveries and dimensional reliability than portable
mills. This reliability is reflected in smaller tolerances
and better prices paid for band-sawn timber.
17
DRAFT
Portable mills
There has been a recent proliferation of portable sawmills in the Solomon Islands and these now dominate
sawn wood production.
The need for portable sawmills has always existed,
especially in remote areas where no other sawmills are
located and there are needs for timber. Whilst portable
sawmills offer opportunities for small communities in
the Solomon Islands, they do not offer universal benefits. Groves (2009) acknowledged that;
….the question of portable sawmills has become one of
the ideological battlegrounds in the war of words surrounding rainforests and their utilisation.
There has been rapid development of portable sawmills
since the early 1990’s as a means of producing sawn
timber, potentially increasing the value of the resource
to the resource owners. Portable sawmills are also believed to allow low-impact harvesting and processing
of trees, avoiding much of the environmental and ecological degradation associated with large-scale commercial logging. However, a recent estimate suggests
that of the 7,000 portable sawmills purchased by people in Pacific countries for a total investment of at least
$150 million, at best perhaps only 20% (less than 1,500
mills) are working, not all to full capacity. There are no
reliable data on the production from portable mills,
their profitability or their contribution to local or regional economies (Groves 2006). Portable sawmillers
in SI require a licence to operate, for an annual fee of
SID 150 for an unlimited volume, but the Ministry of
Forestry has great difficulty in enforcing this and the
industry is largely uncontrolled.
Of the five basic types of portable sawmill used in the
Pacific, only two are commonly used in the Solomon
Islands; chainsaw mills and single circular sawmills
(most commonly Lucas Mills) . In addition to this, undefined amounts of flitches and sawn timber are produced through freehand use of chainsaws.
Chainsaw mills are probably most appropriate to the
needs of many people in SI. They are the cheapest and
most portable of any type of portable mill and fit in
well with the life styles of rural villages. Chainsaw
mills produce rough surfaces and a wide kerfs, producing a lot of sawdust and requiring more energy to cut
through the wood. The final recovery of seasoned and
dressed sawn timber (lumber) is less than for circular
saws or band saws.
In the course of this study, it was suggested that there
were 500 Lucas Mills in the SI and 80% of these were
operational. While single-circular portable sawmills are
relatively cheap, i.e. approximately US$ 5,000 to
US$ 15,000 (Groves 2009), they are nonetheless a significant investment and require a business-like approach and commensurate skill in their operation,
maintenance and sale of products to offer potential
Table 3.1 Notional costs for a Lucas Saw operation (Courtesy: Buni Milling and Reforestation, Noro).
Item
Labour (roading, strapping, stacking to
container etc) $20 a cube for cutting (8
men).
Food
Carry out lumber after sawing
Fuel (Lucas Mill + chainsaws)
Landowner royalty
Spare parts, servicing, maintenance
Risk (primarily theft of spare parts and
fuel)
Truck transport (mostly fuel)
Total
Capital costs for the operation (1 Lucas
Mill, 3.5 ton truck, 1 ton truck, 3 chainsaws, block and chain etc)
Costs for a Lucas Mill
Cos/m3 (SI$)
388
132
100
176
400
150
50
5
1401
(~Aust$269)
SI$500 000
Aust$25 000
financial benefits to communities. A notional breakdown of costs per cubic metre for a small portable saw
operation is provided in Table 3.1.
To be effective, portable sawmills require a package of
support and operational services. In addition to training
and resources for operations and maintenance of the
mill itself, training and guidance needs to be offered
across the whole value chain: log protection, sawing
patterns and dimensions, air-drying, transport to market
and market needs. Without the entire package of training and support, portable mills do not fulfil expectations to communities and are wasteful of money and
valuable wood resources. Portable sawmillers in SI
often work in isolated locations and do not produce
enough rough sawn green timber to undertake seasoning for example. Until recently, all circular saws were
banned in Fiji because of their wide kerf. In a report to
CIFOR, Groves (2009) reports that:
For countries critically short of investment funds, purchasing portable sawmills for commercial production as
an alternative to large-scale logging and medium to large
sawmills, may be a short cut to bankruptcy and a misallocation of scarce resources.
Despite assertions that portable sawmills are less environmentally damaging than large-scale logging operations, there is insufficient detailed knowledge on the
structure of commercial rainforests, their regeneration
and the effects of harvesting logs for these mills to assert that they are environmentally friendly. There was
also a great wealth of anecdotal evidence offered during the course of this study which suggests that a significant proportion of the logs sawn in portable mills
18
DRAFT
were associated with adjacent commercial logging operations.
There have been a number of reasons offered as to why
many portable sawmill enterprises have failed in the
Solomon Islands, and some of these are:
•
Unrealistic financial projections by proponents of
the mills
•
Lack of maintenance
•
Lack of business acumen
•
Lack of markets or access to markets
Groves (2009) points out:
The very high failure rates and subsequent abandoning of
portable sawmills would suggest that villagers cannot
make more money through portable sawmilling and
should not, for this reason, be encouraged to attempt to
do so.
The widespread use of portable mills and the associated package of support and skills deserves active and
transparent discussion.
Sawing patterns and timber
dimensions
All mills seek to produce sawn timber of ideal stability,
dimensions and grade for the market. Eddowes (Annex
4) offers a number of important considerations influencing quality and costs in sawing operations and these
include:
Appropriate sawing profile. A quarter-sawn sawing
strategy is often recommended depending on species
and end product. This sawing pattern helps better quality drying and minimises such drying defects as cup
and twist which can be a common drying defect on
back-sawn (horizontal) boards.
Correct sawn (sizing) and saw allowances. Sawn
material needs to be cut to sizes specified by the customer. Generally, an allowance of +5mm on thickness,
5-10% on width of boards (10% over 150mm wide)
and +50mm allowance on lengths of all sawn material.
Logs should be cross-cut to the standard lengths required plus 50mm allowance. e.g 2.4m standard length
plus 50mm allowance (2.45m).
Cutting sizes for export. The cutting and export of
large-sized flitches is only acceptable for a limited
number of timber species designated for specific enduse e.g Rosewood (300x200 m) for veneers through
custom slicing. Generally large slabs are not attractive
for the Australian and New Zealand markets as the
importers will be required to incur additional costs (and
waste) to re-saw slabs to meet market dimensions.
An important consideration in sawing to meet export
markets, is the quarantine requirements of the import-
ing countries. Quarantine regulations in both Australia
and New Zealand, stipulate that all imported sawn material can only have one dimension at a ‘maximum’
(thickness) of only 200mm. This allows for penetration
of methyl-bromide used in the fumigation process prior
to export.
Where sawn timber is managed by hand, the capacity
to man-handle timber to air-drying stacks and to load
and unload from boats, influences piece sizes for sawn
timber. Mobile mill operators prefer to cut certain sizes
(and lengths) for ease of handling e.g. 50x100mm and
wider, in lengths of 1.8m up to 4.2m. However, not all
of these sizes are attractive in the market.
Seasoning
Seasoning is the controlled drying of wood to a moisture content suitable for the conditions of use and the
purposes to which it will be put. Commercial operators
seek to season as fast as possible, at minimum cost,
consistent with the least possible degrade of the wood.
Well seasoned wood is more stable than green wood
and commands a higher price.
There are two basic levels of seasoning: air drying and
kiln drying. Air seasoning involves drying by exposure
to natural conditions and the final moisture content
depends on the ambient conditions which are variable
in SI, probably 12 - 21%. Kiln drying involves drying
in an enclosed chamber in which the temperature, relative humidity, and speed and direction of flow of circulating air is controlled. The final moisture content can
be determined with sufficient precision to meet the
needs of the client.
Sawn timber can distort if not handled with care in the
early part of the drying process. To minimise degrade
during this period, sawn timber is stacked for drying
with spacers (20mm thick) in between each row of
boards to allow for air circulation. These timber drying
stacks should be placed onto wooden bearers or bed
logs and aligned to keep boards straight. Eddowes
(Annex and 2005) offers practical advice for air-drying
sawn timber.
Drying requirements vary for different species and dimensions and sawn timber brought into the container
ports of Honiara or Noro, are graded and properly
sorted, by species, into their respective thickness. Preliminary air-drying will vary according to the timber
species and the respective thickness e.g. from 30-60
days for 25mm material and from 3-6 months for
50mm material.
Considerations for kiln drying
Kiln drying is expensive but offers financial and market benefits. It is a disciplined undertaking and, if
poorly implemented, can result in timber degrade. Only
one species and one thickness can be kiln-dried at a
time; each species and each thickness having its own
19
DRAFT
kiln-drying schedule. Some basic kiln-drying schedules
have been developed for most of the major timber species of the Solomon Islands. Some of these drying
schedules can be found in Eddowes 2005 and a summary of expected costs and operations in Annex 4.
Potential costs and charges for export
kiln-dried (KD) timber
Kiln-drying has the potential to be very attractive for
sawn wood traders. The average cost in Australia for
the kiln-drying of air-dried hardwoods is around $140180/ m³ including preparation in stickering/ destickering of packs and bundling after kiln-drying. On
top of this is the cost of transportation to and from the
yard of the sub-contract drying facility, which can cost
about $100/ m³ incurred in transport costs.
A charge of Aust$150-200/m³ for reliable kiln-drying
in the Solomon Islands would be attractive for potential
importers. Kiln-dried timber is a readily ‘saleable’
product and eliminates the cost of importers having to
send their (imported) materials for sub-contract drying
upon importation, and at greater expense e.g., transporting to and from a ‘sub-contract’ dryer, loading/
unloading plus cost of drying.
Goodwood, in Honiara, has a large modern kiln-drying
facility which is chronically under-utilised. This may
be due in part to the inexperience of the company in
kiln operations and the large (95 m3) charge required
for the kilns.
Log protection and timber treatment
To maintain the quality of sawn timber presented to
local and export markets, it is necessary to protect the
log and the sawn timber from insect and fungal damage
from the time of felling, through the primary breakdown processes and drying, until the timber reaches the
markets.
Prophylactic, spraying treatments, need to be considered where species are susceptible to attack and degrade from either pinhole borer (Ambrosia beetles)
and/or blue stain fungus. Timbers such as Rosewood
are highly susceptible to pinhole borer attack and sawn
boards with this defect are not accepted in the export
markets. Similarly, other timbers such as kauri pine
and pencil cedar are susceptible to blue stain fungus
and require immediate prophylactic treatment, with
anti-fungal solution, as soon as the log has been felled,
and immediately upon the cutting of boards (Eddowes,
Annex 4)
gicide and an insecticide effective against wooddestroying agents. These borate salts act as a preventative treatment against wood-destroying agents and are
applied on freshly-sawn timber (Eddowes 2005).
Timber treatment carries with it a responsibility for airdrying under cover to prevent treatment chemicals being leached. Use of preservative treatments also carries
a responsibility to minimise potential adverse environmental impacts.
Failure to protect logs and timber against borers and
fungi severely limits utilisation and restricts market
opportunities. There are no international buyers who
will accept rosewood riddled with pin-hole borers or
Palaquium affected by blue-stain fungi.
Grading sawn timber
Grading aims to ensure timber buyers get exactly what
they specify and sellers get the best possible price for
their sawn timber. The two major categories are appearance and structural grades, according to the end
use of the product:
•
Appearance grades are determined from the visual
features of the sawn timber, usually boards of
35mm or less in thickness, eg flooring, panelling,
mouldings, window and door jambs, frames, reveals and sills.
• Structural grades are determined directly by a machine stress grader or proof tester, or indirectly
from visual features known to affect the strength
and stiffness of sawn timber (Groves 2005).
Grading rules for SI sawn timber were formulated by
the Timber Control Unit Project in 1992, based largely
on Australian Standards. VATA offers training on timber grading as part of its wider industry training programs. Unfortunately, there was little indication that
grading rules have been widely accepted and used by
industry who find them too complicated to use. This
offers uncertainty to buyers and places sellers at a disadvantage in price negotiations. Groves (2005) stresses
the need to overcome this unwillingness if SI is to develop a thriving export market for sawn timber which
enjoys a reputation for consistent and reliable supply;
consistent grading; compliance with requested qualities, sizes and lengths; supply of seasoned and/or
treated timber and accurate labelling of consignments
and shipping documentation.
Issues in container transport
The sapwood of some seasoned hardwood species is
susceptible to lyctid borers and the Australian and New
Zealand Quarantine and Inspection Services forbid the
entry of timbers with untreated lyctid-susceptible sapwood into Australia and New Zealand.
Solomon Islands are fortunate to have two container
ports, Noro and Honiara, which can service the export
of containerised sawn timber. Whilst offering reliable
schedules to export markets, container shipment requires suppliers to ship their products from the outer
islands to the ports and a commitment to meet shipping
deadlines.
The easiest and most effective timber treatments are the
water-soluble inorganic borate salts that contain a fun-
Standard twenty foot containers are used for export of
sawn timber and these can accommodate a consign-
20
DRAFT
ment size of about 18 m3. Generally, shipments are
bundled before stacking in the container. Packing timber into containers is a task which needs great care as
the consequences of timber falling while in transit
mean additional unloading expenses at the destination.
Shipments to Australia need to be fumigated using
methyl bromide and this is done to Australian standards by Island Enterprises (a Honiara-based company)
at a cost of about US$214 per container. If this is not
done accurately, the consignee faces significant additional costs for quarantine procedures in Australia.
The paperwork for container export of sawn timber is
complex and time-consuming. The services of experienced agents are normally engaged. Considerable costs
and losses of time can accrue if correct procedures are
not followed and paperwork maintained.
Table 3.2 (ex Eddowes, Annex 4), provides recent FOB
prices for several SI species from the container ports of
the Solomon Islands.
Furniture
There are a number of manufacturers of wooden furniture in the SI. These must compete in price and quality
with imports from countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia which have very sophisticated wood furniture
industries.
With a reliable supply of high quality cabinet wood and
a captive expatriate community and expanding need for
furniture for urban growth, there is an opportunity for
value-adding in the SI to be expanded through a furniture industry.
Manufacturers interviewed were open and enthusiastic
for new design concepts and recognised the need to use
well-seasoned wood in their products, many of which
will be exported to countries with low humidity. Examples of locally-made furniture available in Honiara
are offered in Figure 3.1. One of the principle challenges experienced by manufacturers is well-trained
craftsmen who can offer high level finishing.
Table 3.2 Price information (Source: Eddowes, Annex 4)
Key species
Trade name
Timber sizes
(r/s)
Grade Condition *fob price Comments
(AUD/m3)
Agathis macrophylla
kauri pine
25,38 & 50 mm x100 mm & Select
wider
Possibly also 50x50, 100x100,
150x150 & 200x200 mm
Air dry
Calophyllum spp.
calophyllum
28, 38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & Select
wider
Air dry
Campnosperma
brevipetiolatum
campnosperma
Dillenia spp., incl.
D.alata
dillenia
(simpoh)
600–900 Susceptible to blue stain.
(see Item 7-Market Intelligence)
500
Drying problems. Needs to be
quarter-cut and well seasoned
prior to shipment.
Not marketed or established into
markets except in round-log
form.
Selected logs (with black,
pencil stripe) may be a possibility for veneer flitches e.g.
150-200x200 mm
Select
Green
Very difficult to season. Needs
more research & marketing. Not
established or accepted in current market.
21
DRAFT
Table 3.2 (continued) Price information (Source: Eddowes, Annex 4)
Key species
Trade name
Timber sizes
(r/s)
Grade Condition
Gmelina moluccana
white beech
(canoe
wood)
25,38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & wider
Select
GreenShipping
dry
Intsia bijuga
kwila
25x75 mm & 100 mm; 25, 38 & 50
mm x 150 & wider. 75 mm x 150
mm, 175 & 200 mm; 50x 50,
100x100, 125x125, 150x 150,
200x200 mm
Select
Green
800–1200 In strong demand and increasing. Prices also on
upward trend.
Palaquium spp.
pencil cedar
25, 38 & 50 mm x 150 mm & wider
Select
Air dry
550–650 Susceptible to blue stain
(see Item 7 - Market Intelligence)
Paraserianthes
falcataria
white albizia
25, 38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & wider.
Also, 100x100 mm
Select
Air dry
Pterocarpus
indicus
25, 38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & wider.
Also for veneer flitches e.g 150200x200 mm
Select
GreenShipping
dry
Terminalia bras- brown tersii
minalia
Vitex cofassus
vasa
vitex
700–800 (see Item 7-Market Intelligence)
Not marketed or sold into
current markets.
Pometia pinnata akwa
(taun)
rosewood
*fob price Comments
(AUD/m3)
500-600
Susceptible to pinhole
borer and brittle heart
(doze) in log.
750–950 Highly susceptible to pinhole borer (Ambrosia beetle).
Little or no aesthetic appeal. Difficulty in drying.
Better suited in log form
for rotary veneer.
25x75 mm & wider. 75x150 mm &
wider.
38&50 mmx150 mm & wider.
100x100, 150x150 & 200x200 mm
Select
GreenShipping
dry
600–800 Would benefit greatly from
further marketing and promotion. Takes a long time
to dry.
Footnote:
*Denotes: Re. FOB price/m3 – Price information sourced and supplied by Asia Pacific Timber Consultants T/A Grokelo Pty Ltd.
Prices based on the current, average FOB price for timbers being imported into Australia and New Zealand from the
Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea as at 31.12.08.
22
DRAFT
Side board
Species: Vitex
Approx. size: 2800 x 800 mm (top)
Retail price (US$): $651
Dining table
Species: Rosewood
Bedside table
Species: Vitex
Sunchair
Approx. size: 800 x 600 mm (seat)
Species: Vitex
Dresser
Species: Vitex
Very large dining table
Species: Rosewood
Figure 3.1 Examples of locally-made furniture available in Honiara (Courtesy Tropical Quality Furniture, Honiara)
23
DRAFT
Costs in export markets
Once a container of sawn wood has left the Solomon
Islands and arrived in Australia, there remain many
significant costs before the wood is available from a
wholesaler. An incomplete summary of these costs is
provided in Table 3.3. In addition to these costs, there
are costs for additional seasoning, estimated at
Aust$150/ m3 for air-drying and Aust$250/m3 for kilndrying.
Sub-standard operations in the Solomon Islands can
have serious cost repercussions in the importing countries, especially if quarantine checks and manual restacking are involved.
Table 3.3 Summary of costs between FOB and Australian
wholesaler (Courtesy: Woodage, NSW)
Item
Cost (Aust$)
Per 20’ container (average capacity
18.5 m³)
Freight from SI
Per m³
1642
91.2
Lift on/lift off
65
3.6
Quarantine
65
3.6
Re- delivery
320
17.3
AQIS processing
Unpacking
37
365
2.1
20.3
Cartage (Syd – Mittagong)
525
29.2
20
1.1
Fuel surcharge
147
8.2
Professional fees
120
6.7
FCL booking fee
Quarantine declaration fees
37.5
2.1
Quarantine fees
33
1.8
CMR (cargo management
re-engineering) compliance
EDI (electronic data interchange ) fee
Brokerage
17.5
1.0
5
0.3
15
0.8
176.5
9.8
3590.50
198.99
359.05
19.90
Tailgate check (incurred
50% of time)
Subtotal
(+ 10 % GST)
Value-adding opportunities for
kwila and teak
Value-adding opportunities for all SI sawn timbers is
enhanced through consistent and reliable supply; consistent grading; compliance with requested qualities,
sizes and lengths; supply of seasoned and/or treated
timber and accurate labelling of consignments and
shipping documentation. Opportunities for two species
which are expected to be part of the long-term SI timber industry are discussed.
Kwila (Intsia bijuga) is among the most popular sawn
wood exports from the Solomon Islands. It can potentially command high prices because of its properties of
durability, strength and colour. If the issues of supply
and quality control are met, the main additional and
logical value-adding option for kwila is kiln-drying and
bundling into respective sizes (thickness) prior to export. These packs/bundles can then be distributed to
end-users immediately upon receipt of container by
importers. An important additional treatment is to ensure that ends of all boards have been heavily coated
with end-sealant to alleviate splitting and face checking. Eddowes (Annex 4) report that wholesalers would
be willing to pay upwards of A$250/m3 extra for wellpresented, graded, kiln-dried material in sized packs.
Additional value-adding options such as mouldings and
manufacture of items such as T&G flooring are not
considered feasible for the Solomon Islands at this
stage. Production of high quality flooring materials
requires strict moisture content controls and high capital investment to purchase and install quality moulding
machinery and end-matching equipment. The majority
of Australian and New Zealand manufacturers prefer to
manufacture and supply their own moulded products as
there can be severe repercussions from the ultimate
consumer, if items such as T&G flooring do not meet
the required standard, quality of product and specified
moisture content.
Notional costs and recovery rates through the value
chain for kwila are offered in Table 3.4.
A collection of prevailing prices for kwila logs, sawn
timber and mouldings in the international markets is
provided in Table 3.5.
Plantation teak (Tectona grandis). The global markets
for plantation-grown teak are analysed in Chapter 4.
Given the relatively small size of the teak logs available in the SI, the main options for export are either as
small roundlogs or as squared logs in containers. The
Indian market which represents 70% of the global market for teak market is understood to accept squared logs
down to dimensions of 100x100 mm. Well-graded
squares almost eliminate the sapwood content of the
log and allow for additional volume to be placed into
containers thus reducing the freight cost per unit of
wood.
Challenges facing fast-grown, short rotation plantationgrown teak include knots and a wide sapwood band.
The Solomon Islands is not in a position to produce
sawn material to the exacting standards required by
traders in this particular species.
24
DRAFT
Table 3.4 Selected notional costs for kwila (US$) and recoveries in the value chain
Product/volume (m3)
Roundlog
Rough sawn timber –
merchants door
1.8 m³
6 m³
Residue
Price (US$/m³/round log)
Price (US$/m³)
Notional costs (US$/m³)
0%
70%
10%
15%
63
83
372
126¹
Harvesting
Haulage
Roading
Logging company
profit
Royalties (licensee)
6
380 ³
Trans-island shipping
4
PRODUCTION COSTS
75.60
31.5
18.9
126²
Kiln dried, finished timber retail in Australia
1.38 m³
126 (FOB)
Government tax
Total costs
Export sawn green timber – FOB
1.62 m³
100
5
Fuel
9
Oil
1
Spare parts
6
Food
4
Equipments
14
License
3
Replacement
14
Loans
14
Labour
28
Casuals
33
Loading
1
Royalties
71
Profit
39
220
223412
$650
Re- sawing, docking &
partial air drying, grading, loading etc 7
FumigationAustralia8
NZ9
Other10
Container (to and from
port) 11
115 - 379
$50
214
0
104
Freight and associated costs 13
250
Kiln drying 14
250
Processing 15
400
Marketing 16
2.5
Overheads 17–
labour, rent,
power etc.
100
65
1077.5
¹SIG 2008. ² See introduction for (60:25:15 breakdown of revenue from determined value). ³ Average price from timber merchants. 4 VATA, Silent world Logistic 5Estimated costs of a village
sawmilling operation (Natural Resource Development Fund). 6 Average price (FOB) kwila ( MoF, unofficial data, Feb. 2008) NOTE: Ranges from 234 to 1100 FOB. 7 Pers. comm. M. Scott &
P. Eddowes (2008). 8 Island Enterprise (per container) 9 Pers. comm. M. Scott (2008) (SI fumigation is not accepted in NZ) 10 TIMOL, for countries other than Aust. & NZ (per container)
11
VETE 12 Pers. comm. P. Mussett (2008) 150 × 50 mm, finished four sides 13 Pers. comm. P. Mussett (2008) sub-contracted: SI  NSW, Aust. 14 Pers. comm. P. Mussett (2008) Subcontracted in NSW. 15 Pers. comm. M. Scott, P. Eddowes (2008). 16 & 17 Pers. comm. M. Scott (2008)
25
DRAFT
Table 3.5 International prices for logs and sawn timber of kwila
Price (US $/m³)
Place
Product
Source
687
Guangzhou (China imported log prices in Timber Markets)
Round Log ( < 79cm)
International Wood Markets
Group
1/2009
716
Round Log (> 100cm)
Group
1/2009
105
FOB, Solomon Islands
Round Log (> 600mm x 5m)
URS
329
Round Log (>60 cm)
Group
1/2009
292
Round Log (50-60cm)
Group
1/2009
644- 776
Guangzhou City Imported timber market
Round log (6m, 60cm)
ITTO
1/2009
804
Round Log (80- 99cm)
Group
1/2009
334-369
Peninsular Malaysia (FOB)
Round Log (Sawlog Quality)
ITTO
1/2009
100, 90, 81
FOB Solomon Islands
Round log, (>600mm, 500 -600mm,
<500mm respectively)
SI Government Determined
Value
12/2003
134, 121, 109,
FOB Solomons Islands
Round log, (>600mm, 500 -600mm,
Value
12/2006
115, 105, 100
Round log, (>600mm, 500 -600mm,
Value
6/2007
126, 115, 109.5
Round log, (>600mm, 500 -600mm,
Value
5/2008
160
Mill gate Hoinara
Roundlog
OMEX
12/2008
544-587
FOB, Noro. SI
Sawn Timber
Harry Jas
12/2008
410
FOB, Honiara (to the Gold Coast)
Sawn Timber
MoF
12/2008
468
FOB, Hoinara (to the Philippines)
Sawn Timber
MoF
11/2008
800
FOB, Honiara (to Auckland)
Sawn Timber
MoF
6/2008
580
FOB, Hoinara (to Brisbane)
Sawn Timber
MoF
5/2008
897
FOB, Honiara (to Malaysia)
Sawn Timber
MoF
4/2008
26
Date
2003
DRAFT
Price (US $/m³)
Place
Product
Source
468
FOB, Honiara (to Hong Kong)
Sawn Timber
MoF
3/2008
400
FOB, Hoinara (to Shanghai)
Sawn Timber
MoF
2/2007
234
FOB, Hoinara (to Auckland)
Sawn Timber
MoF
2/2007
400
FOB, Hoinara (to Shanghai)
Sawn Timber
MoF
2/2007
351
FOB, Honiara (to New Caledonia) TT
Sawn Timber
MoF
2/2007
429
FOB, Honiara (to New Malaysia)
Sawn Timber
MoF
2/2007
550
FOB, Honiara (to Auckland)
Sawn Timber
MoF
2/2007
400-450
Mill door
Sawn timber (RS with chainsaw
free hand)
Top Timber
2/2008
480
Mill Door
Sawn Timber (Community timber
labelled/certified)
VETE
2008
546
Mill Door
Sawn Timber (Eco timber labelled/certified)
VETE
2008
426
Mill Door
Sawn Timber (Eco timber labelled/certified)
VETE
1/2007
756
FOB, Hoinara
Sawn Timber Rough Sawn
Timol
1/2009
882
FOB, Honiara
(8 x8)
Timol
1/2009
1100
FOB, Hoinara
Timol
1/2009
1238
Retail, Mittagong
Sawn Timber Rough Sawn ( kiln
dried)
Woodage
1/2009
1010
Retail, Mittagong
Sawn Timber Rough Sawn (rough
stack)
Woodage
1/2009
1100
Retail, Mittagong
Sawn Timber Rough Sawn (rough
stack, air dried)
Woodage
1/2009
1848 - 2773
Retail, Mittagong
Sawn Timber Sawn (6 X 2 kiln
dried, door jam or finished four
sides)
Woodage
1/2009
617
FOB, Hoinara
Sawntimber, Roughsawn
Woodage
1/2009
27
Date
DRAFT
Price (US $/m³)
Place
Product
Source
1169
Retail, Honiara
Sawntimber/second grade decking
Harry Jas
12/2008
497- 549
Malaysia (domestic)( Retail/wholesale?)
Sawnwood
ITTO
1/2009
1130
FOB (Rotterdam)
Sawnwood Kiln Dried
ITTO
1/2009
28
Date
DRAFT
4
Markets and Prices for Plantation-Grown
Teak (Tectona grandis)
Plantation teak and teak in the
Solomon Islands
Teak plantations have been established around the world
to complement dwindling timber supply from natural forests. The total area of teak plantations worldwide is in the
order of 2.2 million hectares. Close to 95% of this plantation area is in tropical Asia - mainly in India (around
980,000 hectares) and Indonesia (680,000 hectares), as
well as Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The large
majority of the world’s teak plantations have been established under government planting programs, and the quality
of these teak stands varies considerably. Solomon Islands
teak resource is well located to supply Asian markets
with teak timber.
Teak was first planted on a large scale in Solomon Islands in 1984 and there are now an estimated 4500 hectares of planted teak across the Islands. Kolombangara
Forest Products Limited (KFPL) is managing its 650 ha
commercial plantation teak stands and government
plantings in the Shortlands (248 ha) and Viru (100 ha)
have also been established and managed. Much of this
teak resource was established between 1980 and 1989.
In recent years, teak has become the primary species
planted by villagers and communities often in small
plots among crops and natural forest and this has been
promoted by Government extension services. Since
2003, an estimated 3500 ha of teak has been established in many smallholdings of an average 0.5 ha in
size. Smallholders established approximately 2000 ha
of planted teak in 2003 and 1400 ha in subsequent
years (URS 2006).
International teak markets
The physical and aesthetic qualities of teak have given
it a worldwide reputation as a premium timber. It is
highly sought after for shipbuilding and for the manufacture of both interior and exterior furniture. With
current total global production of around 3 million m3
per year, teak occupies a small position in terms of the
total volume of world timber production, yet it is recognized as a high-value hardwood timber in global
timber markets. It enjoys special status and a sustained
strength in the market place.
India remains the world’s largest market for teak wood
(Somaiya 2005; Padmanabha 2006) although substantial demand for teak exists in servicing the large teak
processing industries of China and Vietnam which are
largely based on imported logs and Thailand which has to
supplement its own domestic supply. Most of this processed product is exported to Europe and North America as
finished consumer items such as furniture or as sawn timber
destined for decorative uses, boat building and outdoor
decking.
In Thailand, harvesting teak from natural forests has
been banned since 1989 and in Indonesia, which has
substantial teak plantations, there is an export ban on
teak logs. India banned teak harvesting in natural forests in 1982 and in 1997 the Supreme Court of India
ordered further restrictions on the felling of timber of
any kind in the natural forests of India.
In the early 1980’s the total size of the teak market in
India was 7.5 million m3 per year. All teak logs now
consumed in India are now imported with 2.5 million
m3 of teak log imported in 2005 (Padmanabha 2006).
Teak of natural forest origin is imported from Myanmar, however approximately 60% of total teak imports
to India are from plantations in countries in West Africa, and Central and South America. Much of this is
young plantation teak logs ranging in age from 6 to 15
years old. Timber coming from thinning operations has
flooded Indian markets and has adversely affected the
prices (Somaiya 2005). There are fears within the teak
industry that supplies of teak logs from Africa will be
constrained within 5 years.
For Solomon Islands, the most significant export markets are in India, China, Vietnam, Australia and New
Zealand. There is also strong demand for teak in Europe.
However, most European buyers import large volumes of
teak products manufactured in Asia, particularly in Thailand,
China and Vietnam.
Given that Thailand has significant domestic resources
of plantation teak and can access resources from
neighbouring Laos and Indonesia has substantial resources of high quality plantation teak, the most promising market for Solomon Islands’ teak will appear to
be India followed by the furniture manufacturing centres in China and Vietnam. There will be occasional
opportunities for export to boat-building industries in
New Zealand and Australia for high quality large size
logs with good wood features.
29
DRAFT
International prices for plantation
teak
Suppliers in the world markets for plantation teak believe that there is only a small risk of teak prices dropping over the next 30 years because of the high demand
and the long rotation period (Precious Woods 2005).
The importance of certification in the global marketplace is also increasing and, although certain traditional
teak markets are not yet too concerned with this, many
teak producers will seek to meet the various criteria of
sustainable forestry management and certification under credible schemes, on order to ensure the long-term
viability of their ventures (Hardwoodmarkets 2004).
Teak wood prices are presently determined based on
visual assessment and case-to-case basis; there are no
systematic or consistent grading rules with corresponding price values. However, some quality and size requirements such as age (related to wood quality) and
log diameter (relative to size and yield) are being standardized. Average teak wood prices for different log
quality and size were defined using the available information for Costa Rican teak wood (Figure 4.1). The
parameters for quality were log shape, defects such as
pith eccentricity, knots and sapwood content (Moya
and Perez 2008). Within the plantation teak markets,
there is a fundamental distinction between native teak
and plantation teak with higher prices being paid for
teak from natural forests. Only Myanmar offers commercial quantities of natural teak to the international
market.
Within the plantation teak component of the market,
there are again some distinctions with higher prices
being paid for large, long rotation (>50 years), slow
grown teak of Java, West Africa and elsewhere. Small
size logs from fast grown plantations on 20 year rotations or plantation thinings occupy a different (and
cheaper) market niche.
When examining market prices it is important to distinguish between the types of logs being sold as the
price structures are different. The market price for a 30
cm top log from a tree grown on a 70 year rotation will
be different to that for a 15 year old 30cm log from a
thinning program. These differences are reflected in the
variety of prices offered in Table 4.1 (Perez 2008)
where investment companies use market prices and
trends for native teak to support economic arguments
for investment in short-rotation plantation teak.
In addition to these differences are the markets for
squared logs. This applies mostly to small sized logs
which are often sold as ‘squared logs’ where most of
the sapwood has been removed. This offers value to the
buyer and facilitates easy loading and transport by container.
Table 4.1 provides a summary of teak wood prices
publicly announced in the internet by reforestation
companies. Some of these prices are optimistic and are
related to their plantation marketing programs.
Figure 4.1 Estimated average prices for plantation teak wood in relation to (a) age and (b) log diameter (Moya and Perez 2008)
30
DRAFT
Table 4.1 Sources of Web-based information on teak prices in Central America (Perez 2008)
Source
Information
Price (US$/m3)
Observations
Tropical Plantations Ltd. USA
www.tropicalplantations.net
FOB price for teak logs
1260
Based on average pricing
from ITTO, and USA retail
prices
Inversiones el Rosario
(INROSA). Costa Rica.
www.natureinvest.net
FOB price for teak logs of
different ages
12-year-old: 260 (local)
18-year-old: 919 (export)
‘The United States Wood
Association informs that teak
has had an increase of 225%
in price from 1988 to 1992.’
‘The wood for construction
that was sold for US$ 13111967 per m3 is now sold for
US$4370 per m3.’
Tropical American Tree Farms.
Costa Rica.
www.tropicalhardwoods.com
Value per tree
7-year-old: 73
10-year-old: 176
13-year-old: 755
17-year-old: 2165
21-year-old: 6900
No further information
Global Green Services. Costa
Rica.
www.globalgreenservices.com
Report of international teak
prices
Year 1990: 450
Year 1994: 650
Year 1995: 700
Year 1996: 800
Consider that the basis of
calculation includes conservative future teak prices
Kauai Tropical Timbers. Kauai,
USA. www.kauaitimbers.com
Value per tree
8-year-old: 145
12-year-old: 792
16-year-old: 2724
20-year-old: 6069
See further description in the
body text below.
Friendly Forest Products. USA.
www.exotichardwood.com
Current teak lumber inventory. FOB Miami
Clear: US$ 7.0 per BF
(US$3059 per m3)
Clear one face: US$ 6.0 per
BF (US$ 2622 per m3)
Character grade: US$4.0
(US$ 1748 per m3)
Character grade: sound knots,
minimal sap and possibly
some pith.
Myanmar Inter Safe Co. Myanmar.
www.forest-treasure.com
Diversity of products, from
squares to boards and decks
and of different grading or
quality
For teak squares, for example,
prices vary from US$ 4190
per ton of 50 ft3 (US$ 9744
per m3) to US$ 3100 per ton
of 50 ft3 (US$ 7209 per m3),
this for SELECTED
SPECIAL TEAK. Common
or ‘market’ teak show prices
of less than half of those of
selected teak
Teak is difficult to obtain in
Myanmar as it is strongly
controlled by the State, who
sells it by auctioning and resellers increase the price considerably. Prices correspond
to those registered in the
Myanmar
Timber Enterprise (MTE).
MTE is the sole and major
government- owned enterprise in the timber business
Panacea Growth Limited. Belize
www.panaceagrowth.com
Market price for teakwood
(no specifications)
US$ 830 (although stated that
as of today it has risen to
US$1900).
These prices are used in the
financial analysis of the
growth scenarios.
Prime Forestry Panama. Panama
www.primeforestry.com
Growth scenarios with Incomes and log prices
4-year-old: 52
7-year-old: 160
10-year-old: 210
14-year-old: 340
20-year-old: 525
Prices correspond to merchantable volume in logs.
Different profit scenarios are
presented with 0%, 3%, and
6% yearly teak price increments.
31
DRAFT
In general terms, Padmanabha (2006) offered the following guidelines for FOB prices for plantation teak
logs:
•
US$450per m3 for 14 year old teak logs of 24cm
diameter (at mid-log length) and 8 metres total log
length); and
•
US$169 per m3 for 6 year old teak poles of 13cm
diameter (at mid-log length) and 8 metres total
pole length;
•
A$750 per m3 for 18 year old teak logs of 31cm
length.
•
US$270 per m3 for 10 year old teak logs of 18cm
length;
A summary of global prices for teak from several
sources and studies is provided in Table 4.2 (Salwood
Asia Pacific, 2009).
Table 4.2 Prices of teak (Salwood Asia Pacific, 2009).
Source and commodity
Log specifications
Price (per m3)
Comments
Local
US$
<20 cm dia.
1.5M
166
Log yard price. Lower quality less +/$33–55
20–30 cm dia.
2.0M
221
>30 cm dia
3.5M
387
11–13 cm dia
155
Certified logs + 20%
13–16 cm dia
175
‘
16–22 cm dia
190
‘
22–25 cm dia
229
‘
25–29 cm dia
250
‘
29–32 cm dia
277
‘
32–35 cm dia
303
‘
> 35 cm dia
320
‘
ITTO Market Reports (2007) http://www.itto.or.jp
Indonesia
Costa Rica
Brasil
<12 cm dia
10
Guetamala
>16 cm sed
240
Logs FOB (Indian marlet)
3
2648
Best quality sawn lumber
US$63/ft3
2224
#2 Grade sawn lumber
Myanmar
US$75/ft
India (Native forest)
India (Plantations)
Poles
4500
113
At district forest office
Logs
26 000
653
‘
Poles
2600
65
‘
Logs
20 000
502
‘
240
CIF India (US$145 FOB Pt Moresby) –
the same for all small plantation logs
India Study (Midgley et al.
2007a)
Mumbai
Logs ex PNG
Kandla
Logs ex Ghana (including squares)
400–600
CIF.
Ex Ivory Coast (only
round logs – mostly
large
600–700
CIF. Good grain and colour. Generally
large size
Ex Togo(small
squares)
350–400
CIF
Ex Ecuador
(small roundwood)
300–350
CIF
455 (FOB)
CIF US$550 ‘large’ plantn logs
Indonesia ACIAR Study (Midgley et al. 2007b)
32
DRAFT
Muna (on farm)
Log specifications
A1: <20 cm sed
A2: 22–28 cm sed
A3: >30 cm sed
Muna (certified)
Muna (non-certified)
Price (per m3)
Local
US$
Rp1.2M
Rp1.8M
Rp2.2
132
198
243
1.5M
165
Squared logs, farm gate
5.3M
585
Squared logs, FOB Kendari
500–
700000
55–77
1.5M
165
Squared logs, FOB Kendari
653
FOB (US$ /tonne).
Round logs delivered to factory
Kendari
Average for all sizes
(squared logs)
Jepara
A1: 16–19 cm
A2: 22–28 cm
A3: >30 cm
2M
3.5M
6M
220
386
662
Perum Perhutani Furniture, Cepu
A3 logs average for all
log grades.
A3 Rough-sawn lumber
A1/A2 Rough-sawn
lumber
4.5M
496
Cepu – Private furniture
manufacturers
A3 squared logs (ex
Java).
A3 squared logs ex
Muna
Laos, Luang Prabang Study (Midgley et al. 2006)
Luang Prabang
16 cm sed.
(On-farm, standing trees) 20 cm
30 cm
35 cm
Vientiane (squared logs
ex Luang Prabang)
10 x 10 cm
20 x 10 cm
10 x 15 cm
20 x 15 cm
20 x 20 cm
Solomon Islands (SIFMP, October 2007)
>35 cm sed Roundlogs
in containers. FSC
certified
Comments
Squared logs, farm gate
3800
Average
3200
Average
3.2–4.0
353–442
4.2–4.7
464–519
50
70
100
150
184
263
316
368
368
480
15–34 cm sed Roundlogs in containers. FSC
certified
280
15–30 cm sed roundlogs in 100 m3 lots
breakbulk FOB. 17–20
years old
US$230
Assume market is India
30cm+ sed roundlogs
in 100 m3 lots breakbulk FOB. 17–20 years
old
US$450
Assume market is India
Mixed sized roundlogs
(12–30 years old) FOB
in containers
US$500
Container shipments to NZ (2 containers)
AsiaTimber.net (July 2008)
Ecuador
Rough squared logs
US$185 and
33
DRAFT
Log specifications
FOB Guayaquil
Local
US$
up
Ghana
Plantation logs – various sizes. FOB
US$290
Costa Rica
Plantation logs FOB
Caldera, Costa Rica.
Sed 16–32, length 2.2–
2.3 m
US$350
In Lao PDR, the main markets for plantation teak are
those in neighbouring Thailand. Logs are converted to
squared logs close to the plantations and then shipped
in trucks or containers to processing factories in Thailand (Midgley et al. 2006). The prices offered in the
warehouse are presented in Table 4.3.
Table 4.3 Delivered mill door prices for 2 metre squared logs
in Vientiane (for export to Thailand: Midgley et al. 2006)
Squared log profile
10 x 10 cm
20 x 10 cm
10 x 15 cm
20 x 15 cm
20 x 20 cm
Baht/ m3
US$/ m3
7000
10000
12000
14000
14000
184
263
316
368
368
Table 4.4 2003 price schedule based on sales of plantation
teak logs from Solomon Islands to Vietnam, 2003 (URS
2003)
Log size
(sed cm)
15-19
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45+
Price (per m3)
Price Price point
(US$/m3)
120
150
150
210
250
280
330
350
Loaded in containers, wharfside
FOB bulk log load
Comments
In India prices for plantation teak depends upon size
and colour with dealers favouring teak imported from
the Ivory Coast because of good grain, colour and large
size. In 2007, indicative teak prices in Kandla (round
logs, CIF, Kandla) were (Midgley et al, 2007a).
Ghana
US$400–600/m3. (including squares)
Ivory Coast US$600–700/ m3. (only round logs –
mostly large)
Togo
US$350–400/ m3 (small squares)
Ecuador
US$300–350/ m3 (small roundwood)
In Solomon Islands, teak grown on average sites for 15
years can be expected to produce sawlogs with small
end diameters of about 200 mm. Based on the references above, the average FOB price for plantation teak
of this diameter would be about USD150-200/m3. Using the assumptions from URS (2003), in adopting a
conservative USD180/m3, and subtracting an indicative
USD40/m3 for transport to port and loading, the estimated price to growers is USD140/m3 .Given that demand for teak logs remains strong and supply is likely
to remain limited, this price can be expected to remain
steady or increase over the medium to long-term.
Despite the promise of good prices for plantationgrown teak, growers in the Solomon Islands face significant challenges with the logistics of assembling an
economically viable shipment from many small, geographically scattered smallholdings. Many of the issues facing effective marketing of Flueggea outlined in
Chapter 5 apply to teak.
34
DRAFT
Table 4.5 Examples of teak prices from company interviews in Central America 2002–2003 (extracts from Perez 2008)
No
Price
(US$/m3)
Country
Buyer/Seller
Age
(yr)
Description
Observations
Reference
1
42
El Salvador
Seller: Private owner
9
Logs of varying lengths
2003. Personal interview.
2
250–500
Costa
Rica
12 18
Squares and
logs
3
450
Costa
Rica
Seller: Reforestaciones Tecatica
Internacional S. A. Email:
tecatica@racsa.co.cr
Seller: Private Owner
Trees sold in the plantation. Dbh 10–15 cm
and total heights of
15m
Price at Costa Rican
port
22
Logs
Logs loaded on trucks
in the plantation
4
300
Costa
Rica
Buyer: Spanish Royal Teak.
Email: indmora@racsa.co.cr
20
Logs
Logs from unmanaged
plantations
5
460
Costa
Rica
Buyer: Diamond Teak.
www.diamondteak.com
20
Logs
6
1200
Costa
Rica
Buyer: Cabo Rico
www.caborico.com
>15
Parquet
Min. log diameter 15–
20 cm sed depending
on log and wood quality
Product free of knots
and sapwood
7
590
Costa
Rica
Seller: Aserradero Del Rio
Daniel
<15
8
66–200
Costa
Rica
Seller: Confidential
510
Processed
wood, any
dimensions
Squared logs
9
450
Costa
Rica
Seller: Confidential
15
Logs and
squared logs
Heartwood only. Used
for fingerjointing
Min dimension 12 cm.
Ideal 14 x 14 cm x 2.5
metres
FOB Prices
2003. Personal interview
2003. Personal interview
2002. Personal visit to
company
company
company
2002. Internet
document via
ITTO
company
company
Teak logs awaiting export,
Pulisingau, Kolombangara
35
DRAFT
5
Potential Markets and Prices for Flueggea
Poles into Australia and New Zealand for
Horticultural Industry and Other Purposes
Background to Flueggea flexuosa
Flueggea flexuosa is a small to medium tree typically
10–16 m tall. It occurs naturally in the Philippines,
eastern Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, and northern
Vanuatu. In the Solomon Islands the tree has a restricted habitat in lowland coastal forests on coralline
soils and beside rivers on poorly drained sites.
Flueggea is highly regarded throughout the South Pacific for production of highly durable timber, being
especially favoured for building construction uses, especially as round fence posts and construction poles. In
the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, the species grows
rapidly and straight without big branches and is widely
exploited for local uses.
The species is well suited for planting in various agroforestry systems in the Solomon Islands, offering opportunities for small-scale plantations and community
forestry and has potential as a tree crop in a canarium
nut/rattan (Canarium indicum/Calamus spp.) mixed
farming system.
Planted trees can produce naturally durable logs on
short rotations, e.g., 6–7 years for fenceposts and 12–
15 years for construction poles. Yields are estimated to
be about 4–6 m3/ha/yr during the early years. Processing is simple and includes cutting to length and bark
removal (Thomson 2006).
In the description offered by Thomson (2006), Flueggea has a heavy heartwood; the density has been variously recorded as 900 kg/m3 on a dry weight basis, 770
kg/m3 at 12% moisture content (m.c.), and 810–935
kg/m3 at 15% m.c.. The heartwood is pale yellowish
brown or reddish brown, and sometimes hardly distinguishable from the pale sapwood, present as a 1–3 cm
wide band. The grain is straight and the texture moderately fine. Although very hard and strong, the timber is
easily worked, resistant to drywood termites and fungi,
and very well suited for service in ground contact. The
sapwood is not durable in the ground but is nonsusceptible to Lyctus attack. Uses include house poles,
fence posts, ground posts, and light aerial members in
house construction, bridges, and marine piles.
Returns from planting Flueggea
In Western Samoa, Flueggea can be harvested at age
8–10 years and used for small durable poles. The price
in 2004 was about WS$15–30 (equivalent to US$5–10)
per 3 metre length of small pole (10–15 cm diameter).
Most trees yield two 3 metre poles, and two fence posts
(the latter selling for about WS$2–3 each). Whole trees
return for about WS$35–60 each (Thomson 2006).
In the Solomon Islands, Flueggea logs are traded and
sold between villages on some islands and are sold for
typically SI$10 per 3 metre pole (~Aust$2/pole)
(Blumfeld, pers. comm. 2)
Potential markets as vineyard posts
in Australia and New Zealand
The horticultural industries in Australia and New Zealand represent a substantial potential market for durable
posts. Vineyards alone, occupy over 200 000 ha in the
two countries (est. 173 00 ha in Australia and 29 000
ha in New Zealand) (Australian Bureau of Statistics
2008; Anon. 2008). The annual demand for posts to
service these industries is 5.5–6 million posts 3.
The trellis posts most commonly used in Australian
vineyards are pine posts treated with the chemical preservatives creosote or copper-chromium-arsenate
(CCA). These preservatives protect the timber against
termites and wood rot. Use of these posts is of concern
to the organic industry due to the lack of a safe disposal
method and concerns about possible contamination of
soil and crops.
2
Blumfeld, T. (2009). Personal communication. Centre for
Forestry and Horticultural Research, Griffith University.
ACIAR Project: FST/2007/020. Improving silvicultural
and economic outcomes for community timber plantations
in the Solomon Islands by interplanting with Flueggea
flexuosa and other Pacific agroforestry species
3
This estimate assumes that vineyard posts are used at 6 m x
3 m spacing or 555/ha suggesting an Australian vineyard
post ‘population’ of about 96 million and a New Zealand
‘population’ of 16 million. Assuming an annual replacement at 5%, the annual demand for posts, is about 5.5–6
million.
36
DRAFT
National and international organic standards vary in
their approach to treated posts, but the move is clearly
towards excluding CCA and creosote posts from organic properties. The current situation under Australian
organic standards is that:
• Treated posts already installed in vineyards are accepted;
• CCA posts are not permitted for new or replacement
use; and
• Creosote posts are prohibited by some certifiers and
permitted (but recommended against) by others.
(Madge, 2007).
These conditions clearly offer opportunities for untreated, durable posts which can be supplied at a acceptable cost.
Treated radiata pine posts are typically 2.4 metres in
length and 75 – 100 mm small end diameter and their
strength and durability ratings (H4) meet industry requirements. Flueggea posts will have to compete with
these products if they are to offer realistic options to
vineyard managers in Australia and New Zealand.
Quoted prices from processors and wholesalers of
treated pine logs in Australia (Gippsland Treated Pine
http://www.gtpine.com.au and International Timber
Solutions) vary according to size (75 mm or 100 mm
sed) with notional wholesale costs (incl. GST) being
Aust$5.40 per post ex-mill for 75 mm 2.4-m posts and
Aust$8.00 for 100 mm posts. Using these costs as a
guide, the market for vineyard posts is worth about
Aust$30 million annually. Prices for treated radiata
pine posts fluctuate and are linked with global prices
for softwood chip – the two markets compete for resource and when the global demand for softwood chips
is high, prices for treated radiata posts increase.
Issues
Logistics
The logistics of gathering commercial quantities of
Flueggea logs/posts in a convenient central location
adjacent to the container ports of Noro or Honiara are
challenging. In addition to unloading and loading expenses, the logs must be debarked for quarantine and
the loaded containers fumigated to AQIS (or NZ) standards. These costs plus the marshalling costs suggest
an estimated FOB cost of Aust$4500 per 20’ container
with 17 m3 cargo or ~Aust$9 per post (Table 5.2).
Shipment of Flueggea logs/posts from outer islands to
the container terminals at either Noro or Honiara is
expensive. Current costs associated with transport of
sawn lumber are estimated at SI$700–1000 /m3 and this
offers an indication of costs for transporting posts.
Economies could be realised through transport of 5-m
logs rather than 2.5-m posts; but the small barges are
loaded by hand and logs need to be a size that can be
lifted by men. Hence, it has been assumed that 2.5-m
logs will be favoured. Unloading at Noro or Honiara,
storage, debarking and loading into containers and fumigation to acceptable quarantine standards are necessary costs.
The dimensions of the standard container (Table 5.1)
and the requirements of the Australian vineyard industry (posts of 2.4 m) mean that posts must be stacked
lengthways in containers.
Table 5.1 Standard internal container dimensions
(20’ containers)
Length
Width
Height
End-door width
End-door height
Volume
5.87 m
2.33 m
2.35 m
2.28 m
2.26 m
32.85 m3
Quarantine
Both Australia and New Zealand have strict quarantine
regulations. AQIS standards suggest that Flueggea logs
must be debarked and fumigated using methyl bromide
before they can be exported to Australia. Island Enterprises, based in Honiara, are accredited to fumigate
exports of wood products to Australian (AQIS) standards.
Wood properties
Whilst Flueggea enjoys a reputation for strength and
durability among the communities of the South Pacific,
these properties must be quantified and demonstrated
before markets will accept Flueggea as a realistic alternative for treated radiata posts. In a collaborative project with the Forestry Division, Solomon Islands
Department of Natural Resources supported by
ACIAR 4, Griffith University and the Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries are currently undertaking tests to assess these
essential wood properties. It is unlikely that any market
impact will be possible until strength and durability
ratings are available to those responsible for marketing
Flueggea in Australia and New Zealand. Any marketing program for Flueggea posts should include adequate field demonstrations at central and convenient
locations.
4
ACIAR Project: FST/2007/020. Improving silvicultural and
economic outcomes for community timber plantations in
the Solomon Islands by interplanting with Flueggea flexuosa and other Pacific agroforestry species
37
DRAFT
Can Flueggea compete?
Table 5.2 attempts to quantify the expected costs of
assembling a commercial quantity of Flueggea posts
from scattered islands in the Solomons to a central
port, debarked and stacked into a container, fumigated
to AQIS standards, shipped to Australia, out of the
port, out of customs, and delivered to a wholesale site
where a vineyard manager might buy them. To be
competitive in the market, these costs should be close
to the Aust$5.20 wholesale price for a treated radiata
post.
Table 5.2 Schedule of anticipated costs related to export of Flueggea posts to Australia and subsequent delivery to the
vineyard industries .
Item
Cost (SI$)
per m3
In the Solomon Islands
Payment for 2.5-m log delivered to beachhead @ SI$5.00/log (large end diameter
150 mm and small end diameter 100 mm, length 2.5 m = volume 0.0311 m3)
Shipping to Honiara + loading and unloading (per m3) – depends on distance. Estimate SI$700–1000.
Debarking (per m3)
Stacking and marshalling (per m3)
Fumigation (@SI$1800/container)
Agents fee (estimated SI$2000 per container)
Estimated FOB cost Honiara (SI$ per m3- assumes 17m3 of posts/container)
Estimated FOB cost Honiara (Aust$ per 20’container )
Cost (Aust$)
per 20’ container
160
850
20
70
105.90
117.65
1323.55
4500
5
In Australia
Freight costs (container Honiara–Sydney). Per container — 17 m3
Lift on/lift-off
Quarantine
Re-delivery
AQIS processing
Unpacking
Cartage to rural wholesale outlet
FCL booking fee
Fuel surcharge
Professional fees
Quarantine declaration fees
Quarantine fees
CMR compliance
EDI fee
Brokerage
Tailgate check (road check)
Sub total
(+10% GST)
Total costs (in Australia)
Total delivered costs (per container carrying 17 m3)
Estimated price per post (assuming 500 posts/20’container)
5
1642
65
65
320
37
365
525
20
147
120
37.50
33
17.5
5
15
176.50
3590.5
395.05
3985.55
8485.55
16.97
Personal communication. Peter Mussett, The Woodage, Mittagong.
38
DRAFT
It is assumed in Table 5.2 that Flueggea logs will have
a 100 mm small-end diameter and an estimated largeend diameter of 150 mm and be overcut to 2.5 m
length, offering a volume for an individual post of
Sea freight, loading, unloading, quarantine costs plus
road costs and GST to market come to about
Aust$3985 per container-load of posts. Added to this
are the Solomon Island costs (inter-island shipping +
debarking + fumigation + marshalling + port fees) of
Aust$4500. The estimated cost to a wholesale distribution point in Australia per container load of 500 posts
will be about Aust$8485 or about Aust$17.00 per post
— almost 3 times the price of a treated radiata post.
Minimal merchant’s margins have been included in
these figures.
Challenges
It is clear that Flueggea posts will struggle to gain
market penetration in the vineyard industries of Australia and New Zealand with these price structures in
place – even assuming a modest Aust$1.00 per log paid
to the growers at the beach landing site. Indications are
that the delivered costs (above) for Flueggea posts will
be three times those for treated radiata posts. An analysis of the breakdown of costs suggests that the logistics
and costs associated with accumulating commercial
quantities of Flueggea posts for export will make this
particular market unworkable.
A major factor in international trade is the ability to
supply adequate quantities reliably and regularly. Ex-
0.0311 m3. It is also assumed that 17 m3 of posts can be
loaded into a 20’ container offering about 500 posts to
a container.
perience with the log export and sawn lumber export
sectors of the industry suggest that problems will be
encountered in offering reliable and steady supply of
Flueggea posts. The markets in Australia and New
Zealand are aware of this and should be addressed if
further consideration is to be made for trade in Flueggea posts.
A major part of offering reliable supply of a product is
knowledge of the resource size. Market discussions
will be helped by knowledge of the size and location of
the potential Flueggea resource in the Solomon Islands
At the moment, there are no technical standards for
Flueggea posts. It is expected that the work of the
ACIAR Project being managed by Griffith University
will provide data to underpin technical standards.
Technical data relating to the strength and durability
characteristics of Flueggea posts are essential if this
wood is to be marketed widely.
Flueggea is not well known outside the South Pacific.
If it is to gain market recognition in the potential markets of Australia and New Zealand, it is important that
credible demonstrations of its properties be offered.
Further examination for potential domestic markets for
Flueggea poles and posts is warranted including new
applications such as pre-fabricated housing.
Fleuggea flexuosa planted 1982, Poitete Forestry School arboretum; photo December 2008
39
DRAFT
6
Market Opportunities for Solomon Islands
Wooden Handicrafts
Background
Handcrafted wooden artefacts represent a vibrant part
of the living culture of the Solomon Islands. A wooden
carving from the Solomon Islands is a readily identifiable symbol of the Solomons experience. The carvings
are well known and respected in the Pacific and are
exported and sold in tourist outlets in Fiji, Vanuatu,
Cook Islands, Guam and Hawaii where they are sold as
mementos of the broader Pacific experience. Wallis &
Fortuna and Fiji represent particularly strong markets,
meeting the needs of their expatriate populations and
tourism. Anecdotal reports suggest that, typically, carvings are sold at about twice (to thrice) the prices commanded in the Solomon Islands. At the International
Expo 88 in Brisbane, large volumes of Solomon Islands wooden carvings were sold however market momentum was unable to be maintained. There are no
known Government restrictions to the sale and export
of carvings however carvings are obliged to meet quarantine regulations in importing countries.
Solomon Islands carvings are hand crafted in the village environment and wood-working machinery is not
used in their manufacture. They fall into 4 broad categories (WWF 2008):
•
Bowls: Of varying sizes and weight
•
Figurines: Shapes of people, heads etc.
•
Sea life: Depictions of fish, dolphins and shells
•
Accessories: Serving spoons, plates etc.
The largest domestic markets are those serving tourism
and other visitors to the Solomon Islands (such as
RAMSI) and, as with other Pacific countries, with most
visitors buying a small carving to take back to their
countries as a memento of their visit.
Most carvings are sold through resorts or specialist
shops in large centres. Retailers have been unable to
deal wholesale with carvings and the carver’s price is
individually negotiated and relatively high (compared
with carvings from Asia). Retail shops and resorts sell
carvings on a commission basis; after agreeing on a
selling price with the carver, the retailer agrees to keep
an agreed commission (about 10%) for storing and
marketing the carving. No money changes hands until
the carving is sold.
Whilst most sales of wooden carvings are completed in
the Solomon Islands, some special commissioned
works are exported to Australia, USA and NZ, including larger items such as totem poles and bulk heads for
beds, posts and large figureheads, nguzu nguzu, for
boats. So far, there appears to have been no attempt to
blend the skilled carving of the Solomon Islands into
its emerging wood furniture industry.
The quality of carvings varies and price is influenced
by several issues including:
•
The skill of the artist and the significance of the
carving itself
•
The uniqueness of the carving – for example, dolphins are produced in large numbers
•
The distance of the carver from the point of sale
•
If the sale is being made by the carver himself
•
The species of wood used
•
Incorporation of shells, shark teeth and other nonwood features, and
•
The quality of the wood used especially the presence or absence of cracks or faults and capacity to
withstand changes in humidity and remain stable
in a new country.
Unfortunately, few carvers recognise themselves as
artists and regard their carving as a basic livelihood.
The artistic value of their own carving is recognised by
few carvers (the best known and skilled) and, for example, very few sign their work. The situation appears
to be similar to that with Aboriginal art in Central Australia where it took many years before the unique artistic merit was broadly recognised by more than a
specialist few.
For visitors, unfamiliar with the Solomon Islands, the
question of how much to pay for a carving is difficult.
Most visitors are willing to pay a fair price and are not
inclined to disadvantage the carver or the seller; however they have a justifiable fear of paying excessively
for their Solomons carving.
The purchase of a carving would be assisted if the
buyer had access to additional information on the carving itself. There is little readily available information
on Solomon Islands carvings, and sales would be as-
40
DRAFT
sisted through providing the buyer with basic background:
Challenges
Competition
•
The type of wood used. Popular species include
kerosene wood (Cordia subcordata), rosewood
(Pterocarpus indicus), ebony (Diospyros spp),
ironwood (Xanthostemon melanoxylon), canoewood (Gmelina moluccana), kwila (Intsia bijuga)
and coconut (Cocos nucifera).
•
The significance of the piece. Explanations of why
dolphins or certain fish species are popular carvings; the significance of shark teeth or coloured
shells
Carved wooden artefacts are widely produced through
Asia, especially Vietnam and Indonesia, where communities have their own strong traditions for high quality wood carving. These carvings are marketed widely
and are of high quality and cheap compared with those
from the Solomon Islands. In the non-discerning mass
markets of Australia and other western countries, it will
be difficult for Solomon Islands carvings to match the
competitive prices for Asian carvings and to find a
market niche which is financially viable.
•
The carvers themselves – who they are, and what
are their backgrounds
Information on Solomon Islands carvings
•
The provenance of the carving: date of carving,
where the carving originated, information on the
Province.
Some carvers have expressed concern at the emerging
difficulty in finding reliable sources of suitable wood
for carving. In particular, the popular carving woods
kerosene wood and ebony are becoming difficult to
locate.
From discussions with carvers in Gizo and Honiara, it
is apparent that the carvers themselves lack basic market information. Market information relating to the
needs of the tourist and expatriate markets in the Solomon Islands is lacking: what size is popular; what
woods; what designs. Carvers were largely unaware of
the quarantine and customs requirements for import to
Australia and might wish to reduce their use of materials such as particular species of shells or dolphin’s
teeth to facilitate smooth passage into western markets.
Despite the cultural significance of wood carvings and
the importance of their sales for local communities,
there are few readily available, popular, authoritative
sources of information on the carvings. The excellent
publication Handicrafts of the Solomon Islands (1986)
is now out of print and there are few other sources to
offer information on the rich variety of Solomons carvings.
Shipping and freight
In many of the markets of Asia, retailers offer clients a
shipping service to send carvings and artefacts back to
their countries. Such a service allows visitors to purchase large or heavy artefacts without compromising
their travel with unwieldy luggage. This was discussed
with the Solomon Islands agent for DHL, a major international courier. Unfortunately the Solomon Islands
retailers are scattered across many resorts in the islands
where logistics are challenging and often unreliable
and the markets are relatively small and variable. The
current volume of carvings to be shipped does not warrant the creation of a special agency in popular tourist
centres such as Gizo. This limits the size of most carvings which can be sold to visitors.
41
DRAFT
God of War
Known as ‘Nguzunguzu’, it is the
traditional God of War in Western
Solomons.
Kerosene wood
Dimensions: W28cm x H25cm
Retail price: US$91
Small bowl
Kerosene wood
Dimensions: Diameter11.8cm x
H6.5cm
Retail price: US$11
Oval bowl
Coconut wood
Dimensions: L29.2cm x
W22cm x H11cm
Retail price: US$45
Dolphin
Ebony wood
Dimensions: L22.5cm x
W4.8cm
Retail price: US$15
Marine turtle
Rosewood
Inner chamber with the
turtle back designed as a lid.
Dimensions: L54cm x
W28.5cm
Retail price: US$241
Source: Solomon’s Handicraft Treasury (http://www.solomoncrafts.com/default.htm)
Right-hand photos: Melanesian Handicrafts, Ranadi, Hoinara.
42
DRAFT
7
Market Opportunities
of Blocks of Speciality Timbers for
Wood Turners/Craftsmen
Wood arts and craftsmen around
the world capture the essence of wood in their individual pieces to enhance the unique grain, texture and colours. The fulfilling act of woodwork is attracting more
and more people and woodturning is enjoying unprecedented popularity. The wood needs of this community
and the wood needs for other speciality wood products
such as billiard cues, clocks, fine furniture, custom
knife handles, musical instruments, flooring (including
parquetry flooring), tool handles, and carved objects
are increasing. The unique wood properties of Solomon
Island hardwoods would be appreciated in the speciality timber markets, and perhaps attract high prices.
Woodcraftsmen seek timbers that have eccentric
grains, contrasting colours or unusual textures. Solomon Islands timbers come in a range of colours and
densities and possess the individualistic qualities that
woodcraftsmen prize.
Unlike the regular timber industry where the industrial
end uses often demand a consistent product, the specialty timber industry is not confined to providing timber with consistent properties but on the contrary is
often encouraged to provide timber of an inconsistent
nature. One such example that has a substantial commercial value are burls. Burls are the cankerous outgrowths of trees, usually the result of some injury or
pathogenic attack. Invariably these burls have complex
textures, colours and grains. Consequently woodcraftsmen prize these pieces of timber. However there
is still a demand for the characteristics inherent in conventionally sawn timber (Aspden 1999).
The most important factors in marketing speciality
timbers are market acceptance for the species concerned and knowledge of its wood properties. International research indicates that the following market
acceptance for the species, the five most important factors affecting the choice of speciality timbers are, in
order of importance, colour, grain, volume availability,
suitability for use and price (Gresham 1995). Where a
new species is seeking to break into the market, it is
common to build upon market preference for traditional timbers and select a well-known market analogue (such as teak, mahogany or rosewood) and use
this relationship as a marketing tool.
A series of unstructured and informal telephone interviews were conducted in Australia as part of this study.
Generally, most informants were positive about the
market potential of Solomon Island speciality timbers
and believed that these could be traded successfully
provided certain conditions were met and a number of
issues were raised.
Figure 7.1 Products from turning speciality Australian woods (Aspden 1999)
43
DRAFT
Market knowledge of Solomon Island speciality timbers
Speciality timbers from the Solomon Island are not
well known and there is a need for active marketing to
create the Solomon Islands brand. There was nothing to
distinguish Solomon Islands rosewood from PNG
rosewood or rosewood from Asia which is better
known. The question was raised of how to differentiate
Solomon Island timbers from the same species from
other countries.
The generally reactive nature of timber industries
means that promotional activities, including exhibitions
(Rivera et al. 2003) and the publication of ‘glossy’
promotional booklets (e.g. Teixeira et al. 1988), are
often considered essential for establishing species from
new sources in the market. The Solomon islands has
partly completed this task with the publication of
Solomon Island Timbers by Peter Eddowes
(www.solomontimbers.com.sb) . This collection of
species’ descriptions needs to be expanded to include
the range of species which might find a niche in the
speciality timbers markets.
Market reliability
Retail outlets involved with the speciality timber business in Australia demand reliability as key to their
business. After reliability, issues of responsiveness to
market needs and quality and presentation are considered.
low reliability of timber supply and lack of information
about the wood properties, processing characteristics
and techniques, and suitable uses for the Solomon Islands timbers compared with those from other countries.
During interviews, complaints were heard about unprofessional supply chain management for timber sales
from the Solomon Islands and these lead to frustrating
and costly dealings with suppliers.
Products and market needs
It is uncertain of where the market options for speciality timbers lie. The potential markets include manufacturers of items such as billiard cues, clocks, fine
furniture, custom knife handles, musical instruments,
flooring (including parquetry flooring), tool handles,
and turned and carved objects. The variation in species,
colour and densities of Solomon Islands timbers suggests that the needs for many of these products could
be met. Retailers understand this variation but require
information on aspects of quality; dimensional stability, gluing and screwing properties for example. This
variation suggests that container shipments would be
segregated to meet various end needs.
Some clients require rough sawn air dried timber and
will be demanding of quality standards. Other clients
require timber cut to prescribed dimensions (Table
7.1). It is important that these client standards be met
consistently.
One of the main reasons for a perceived lack of interest
in specialist timbers from the Solomon Islands is the
Table 7.1 Dimensions of timber boards required by product manufacturers (Venn and Whittaker 2003)
Product
Thickness (mm)
Billiard cues
Width (mm)
Length (mm)
35
35
1600
Flooring
12–25
60–150
30–6000
Furniture
20+
75–100+
100–4000
Musical instruments
Flute
40
40
70–700
Guitar — side
50
135
900–1000
Guitar — face and back
50+
230
550
40–75
140+
400–600
10
50
300–500
Guitar — neck
Guitar — fingerboard
Violin
Xylophone
Veneer
Woodcarving
50
50
750
20–50
38–50
150–350
100–250
150–250
2500–2900
50
100
500
Costs
The logistics associated with the Solomon Islands timber industry offer costs which substantially increase
delivered costs in Australian markets. By far the largest
issue facing any proposed export of speciality timbers
from the Solomon Islands will be the challenges and
expenses associated with assembling a commercial
quantity of these speciality timbers at either Noro or
Honiara container ports. The costs of delivering wood
44
DRAFT
to a beach head, sea transport to Noro/Honiara, storage,
loading, fumigation, will make the FOB price for SI
speciality timbers high (see, for example costs outlines
in Parts 3 and 5). Based on the experience with container exports of rough sawn utility timbers such as
Kwila or Vitex, it is unlikely that speciality timbers
would be landed in Australia for less than Aust$1200
per m3.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Australian and international timber product manufacturers have paid high
prices for small volumes of Solomon Island hardwoods, however, it is unclear whether sufficient demand could be generated from high-value timber
manufacturers to warrant expanded import of these
timbers.
Size of markets
The Australian markets for speciality timbers are very
small by global standards - many of these businesses
consume annual timber volumes measured in kilograms, not cubic metres (Venn et al. 2005). In their
similar study on markets for western Queensland
hardwoods, Venn and Whittaker (2003), reported estimated that the current total traded volume in these
Queensland hardwoods does not exceed approximately
200 m3 per annum - and the logistics of supply are simpler than those from the Solomon Islands.
However, the markets of Europe and North America
have an sophisticated appreciation for ‘exotic’ woods
and are far larger than those of Australia and New Zealand. If the Solomon Islands timbers are to compete
with the rich tropical wood resources of Asia, South
and Central America and Africa, then a marketing program will be necessary.
Venn and Whittaker (2003) provided a list of estimates
of current prices paid by wood craftsmen and timber
merchants for western Queensland hardwoods. Although these hardwoods are quite different to Solomon
Islands hardwoods, they face similar market challenges; they are not well known; only recently has
technical data on timber properties become available.
The prices offer an order of magnitude for the prices
paid for speciality timbers in the Australian market.
Craftsmen reported prices from $335/m3 for green
rough sawn boards to between $2000/m3 and $3000/m3
for rough sawn, dried timber. Timber merchants indicated that they purchase western Queensland hardwoods for between $650/tonne to $3000/tonne for logs,
and $3000/tonne to $5000/tonne for dressed timber.
Marketing
Informal questions to speciality wood merchants in
Australia suggest that Solomon Island hardwoods are
relatively unknown to the speciality sectors of the Australian and international timber industry and are only
traded in small volumes.
Figure 7.2 Products from turning speciality Australian woods (Aspden 1999)
45
DRAFT
Penetration into the international markets for speciality
timbers from the Solomon Islands will require a large
and well-directed marketing campaign. This campaign
must seek to differentiate SI timbers from those of
PNG and Asia, which might be better known and more
readily available. This campaign must be balanced with
the views expressed by some Solomon Islands carvers
that some high value species such as ebony are in short
supply and will be needed to meet domestic needs.
Conclusions
Some homework remains to be done if Solomon Islands timbers are to find a niche in speciality timber
markets:
•
Wood properties of species to be marketed must be
freely available. The published work of Eddowes
(2005) could be expanded and disseminated
•
Determine the timber condition required by particular product manufacturers (KD, rough sawn
etc)
•
Determine the dimensions required by particular
product manufacturers – this will influence appropriate harvesting, processing and seasoning methods
•
Estimate the potential domestic and international
market demand for Solomon Island speciality
hardwoods.
•
Provide a reliable estimate of what volumes of
wood might be availability from the Solomon Islands
This chapter has been drawn largely from the reports
and the approach adopted by Venn et al. (2004), in
their study Utilisation of Western Queensland Hardwoods as Speciality Timbers (RIRDC Publication
number 04/130).
Figure 7.3 . Wood-turned articles from specialist Tasmanian species (Aspden, 1999)
46
DRAFT
8
Market Intelligence
The major current markets for
Solomon Island sawn timbers are in Australia and New
Zealand. Both countries are familiar with the timber
species available especially the commodity-type species such as Kwila and Rosewood. Other timber species that have established niche markets in both
countries include akwa, pencil cedar, vitex and white
beech. Rosewood is used in greater volumes in Australia than in New Zealand.
The main demand in Australian and New Zealand markets is for durable structural grade timbers (F17 & F27)
and timbers for general joinery including window and
door frames, window sills, wooden doors, shop-fitting
items and general building construction such as decking, screening, posts and flooring. Wood furniture, custom-made in Australia, is also manufactured but this is
limited as most Australian-made furniture has difficulty competing with imports from Vietnam, Indonesia
and China. Kwila remains popular as a species for outdoor garden furniture.
Other countries importing Solomon Islands timbers
include Noumea and Tahiti where durable species such
as Kwila and Vitex are popular for exterior joinery and
building purposes associated with the tourist industry,
e.g. heavy decking and posts and for accommodation
dwellings.
Other possibilities exist in lucrative, specialized international markets, such as Japan. The Japanese market
has rigid specification and quality standards for sawn
timber and requires standard sizes specific for the
Japanese market – these dimensions differ to those
standard dimensions in the Australian and New Zealand markets. Provided the rigid specification and quality standards can be met, and on-shore grading and
kiln-drying completed prior to export, markets may
develop for Kauri Pine, Pencil Cedar, White Albizia,
Rosewood and Vitex. The Japanese are very ‘quality’
conscious but will pay excellent prices for the right
product.
In the course of this study, the team met and discussed
opportunities for the Solomon Islands with many players in the timber industries in New Zealand and Australia. This chapter attempts to bring together a broad
number of suggestions which might benefit those involved in the industry. The messages which were most
strongly and frequently received were the need for consistent and reliable supply; consistent grading; compliance with requested qualities, sizes and lengths; supply
of seasoned and/or treated timber and accurate labelling of consignments and shipping documentation.
Once these parameters had been addressed, there were
a number of new opportunities and considerations
which might enhance the Solomon Islands export industry of logs, sawn timber and wood products.
Most large wholesalers and retailers are beginning to
find market pull for legal timber, timber from sustainable sources and certified timber. Bunnings, the Woodage (in NSW) and NZ wholesalers all require some
measure of ‘greenness’ to their products. The community value of SI timbers helped offer this perception of
environmental responsibility and gave exporters and
buyers the opportunity to sell into the environmentally
conscious market.
Specific comments received from the Sydney markets
include:
•
Timber from FSC certified, transitional and self
certification schemes such as Greenpeace in SI offers a degree of accountability which finds resonance with buyers.
•
Demand outstrips supply for both Taun and Akwa
•
Vitex is getting more recognition
•
An increase in demand for Rosewood for joinery
has been experienced since western red cedar has
become less available
•
Kwila is one of the few species which is fire rated
in NSW where it competes successfully with other
fire rated species such as spotted gum, iron bark
and turpentine because of its much better working
properties.
•
Kwila decking is a low-value, high-volume product, and it is difficult to compete with Indonesiansourced Merbau. Kwila decking, especially as
wider boards, may become attractive as the exchange rate with the Australian dollar changes.
•
Certified timber, timber sourced from legal sources
and from community operations are suitable for
particular applications or projects which have an
accountability requirement.
•
By global standards, the Solomon Islands timber
resource is relatively small and there is a need to
work cooperatively in establishing a credible niche
market for SI timbers, based on accountability and
sustainability.
Comments from the New Zealand markets included:
47
DRAFT
• The opportunities for SI
timbers would be enhanced if
the presentation of timber can
improve and companies such
as Top Timber and Honiara
Timber Traders in SI are leading the way. Timber importers in New Zealand are keen
to get develop improved saw
milling operations in the Solomon Islands to foster
improved management of the resource and to enhance quality control.
9
•
In New Zealand, the trade in Merbau is decreasing
because of a market perception of its poor environmental credentials.
•
Solomon Island timbers enjoy a great deal of
goodwill in New Zealand and this is expected to
remain so as long as perceptions surrounding sustainability and legality are unambiguous.
•
There is little market demand for finished wood
products from the Solomon Islands unless the
wood is kiln-dried. An exception to this is Vitex
which is extremely stable, air dries well and can be
used outside or in wharfs.
•
Market demand for both Vitex and Calophyllum is
increasing and both have started to receive market
recognition.
•
Timbers from the Solomon Islands compete with
hardwood timbers from PNG, Australia, Indonesia,
Western Africa, and oak and beech from Europe.
•
Many of the species which compete with Solomon
Islands hardwoods for Wharf timbers come from
Central and South America, mainly Peru. Generally Vitex can compete with these timbers as it is
cheaper.
•
The main use for teak in NZ is as decking and
general boat building. The volumes required are
relatively small and dark, heavy teak from very old
plantations or native forests is preferred .
•
The gingery/orange colour of plantation teak is not
fashionable at the moment.
•
The transition of plantation teak to the general
markets needs to be managed and marketed carefully and an ideal product range established (i.e.
dressed boards).
Air-dried kwila prepared for export, Timol Timbers, Honiara
48
DRAFT
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
The Solomon Islands has a high quality natural wood
resource for which there will be a steady demand in
both domestic and international markets. The current
economic crisis has caused a temporary downturn in
the export markets for logs and sawn timber, however,
demand for tropical hardwood logs and wood for plywood, construction, furniture and flooring is predicted
to recover. Despite the significance of tropical hardwoods to the economy of the Solomon Islands, the
country does not maintain a membership of the International Tropical Timber Organisation.
There is well-documented evidence to indicate that the
resource is diminishing rapidly and that most commercially-accessible natural forests will be logged by 2011.
The consequences of this to the industry, local employment and to SIG revenues have been wellpublicised.
Conditions for growing trees in the Solomon Islands
are excellent. There is an expanding resource of some
26 000 ha of large-scale and smallholder plantations of
commercial species and there is an expectation that this
will expand further in response to future export opportunities.
Despite a proven capacity to grow and manage trees
commercially, the major challenge facing exportoriented, commercial development of large and small
plantation programs is that of logistics. The challenges
of harvesting small numbers of trees in many locations
and delivering these as a commercially-viable consignment at a central export point are substantial and
expensive. The potential for a commercial barge service to meet this demand deserves re-consideration.
The infrastructure and skills for an effective valueadding sector are limited and this is potentially compromised by uncertain technical standards and poor
quality control . There are opportunities for improvements in sawing and seasoning standards which will
enhance export opportunities. The current proliferation
of portable sawmills in the Solomon Islands needs to
be reviewed. To ensure that these are not wasteful and
remain economically viable, it is important for each
mill to be accompanied by a package of skills and
knowledge to make sure that most profitable use is
made of the facility and the resource.
Recommendations
The Australian Agency for International Development
(AusAID) is currently formulating a Forest Livelihood
Program as part of ongoing support to the forest sector.
Given the influence of export markets on the management of both natural and plantation forests, information
on prices and opportunities will be an important part of
the success of this program. It is recommended that:
The FACT project offer inputs to the formulation
of the Forest Livelihood Program, perhaps through
an expert team to contribute to its development .
To assist in the exchange of knowledge, market information and project opportunities in the international
forestry sector, it is recommended that:
FACT continue to encourage the Solomon Islands to become a member of ITTO.
There is a substantial quantity of excellent information
and publications of relevance to the Solomon Islands
and their Pacific partners which is not readily available.
It is recommended that:
FACT approach the owners of information useful
to the log and wood export sectors (the AusAIDsupported SIFMP in particular) and have this made
publically accessible on the Web.
The small value-adding community in the Solomon
Islands is disadvantaged through limited sharing of
knowledge. It is recommended that:
FACT assist dissemination of knowledge through
encouragement and support of:
•
The production of a VATA periodical
(monthly or quarterly) which would incorporate information from the Export Database
maintained by the Ministry of Forestry and the
Central Bank of the Solomon Islands.
• A synthesis of export data on sawn timber and
log exports from MoF, CBSI and Customs for
provision to VATA.
• An inventory of the wood processing infrastructure of the Solomon Islands which will
offer industry members information on facilities, capacities and skills.
• An expansion of the species covered in the
book Solomon Islands Timber
The wooden furniture industry has the potential to utilise and display the superior features of high quality
timbers from the Solomon Islands. This industry is
small and unsophisticated and would benefit from a
program of technical support to help it expand. It is
recommended that:
49
DRAFT
10
FACT seek sources
of technical support for
the Solomon Islands
wood furniture industry
Teak plantations comprise an estimated 70%
of the 6000 ha smallholder plantations in the Solomon Islands. The potential value of this resource in export markets has been a
feature of the extension efforts which have encouraged
and supported the establishment of plantations. The
largest market for plantation-grown teak is India and it
is recommended that:
FACT support a consulting visit to the region by
Mr R. T. Somaiya, President, Timber Importers Association of India to provide advice on how best to
meet the demands of the Indian markets.
Planted trees of Flueggea flexuosa can produce naturally durable poles on short rotations. Export and domestic market opportunities for these poles are limited
because of the lack of technical data relating to the
strength and durability characteristics. There is considerable uncertainty as to the size of the Flueggea resource in the Solomon Islands and its capacity to
supply markets. It is recommended that FACT encourage:
•
The development and dissemination of information on the strength and durability of
Flueggea poles
• An assessment of the size and location of the
potential Flueggea resource in the Solomon
Islands
• Foster credible demonstrations of the durability an strength properties of Flueggea, and
• Examination of new applications for Flueggea
poles and posts such as pre-fabricated housing.
Handcrafted wooden artefacts represent a vibrant part
of the living culture of the Solomon Islands. For visitors to the country, wooden carvings are a readily identifiable symbol of the Solomons experience. Sale of
wooden carvings has the potential to offer many finan-
cial benefits to small rural communities. It is recommended that:
FACT support a strategic marketing program
which raises the profile of Solomon Islands carvings and highlights the symbolism of wooden carvings as part of visitors’ Solomons’ experience.
Components in this strategy might include:
Encouragement for carvers to accept intellectual
ownership and recognition for their carvings as art
and sign their work.
Work with NGOs, resorts and retail outlets to
provide improved market information to the carvers; which carvings do tourists prefer; what size is
popular; what woods; what designs?
Provision of information to buyers. SPC / FACT
can work with the Solomon Islands Department of
Industry and local handicraft retailers to:
•
Produce colourful and informative tags and
brochures to accompany carvings and support
sales at resorts and retail outlets.
• Reprint the booklet: Handcrafts of the Solomon Islands (Ministry of Trade, Honiara,
1986)
This additional information will enhance the visitors’
Solomon Islands experience and encourage sales. The
French have a sophisticated and strong appreciation for
Melanesian art and Solomon Islands carvings are popular in markets in New Caledonia and Wallis & Fortuna.
It is important that these documents, brochures and tags
are published in both French and English.
In addition, it is recommended that FACT work with
Solomon Islands wood-workers to broaden the product
range. Examples included building blocks for preschool children and children’s toys. Of critical importance will be high-quality finishing and good presentation for these items.
FACT might also consider studying the processes and
strategies involved in gaining artistic recognition for
Central Australian Aboriginal art and assessing if these
approaches are appropriate for the Solomon Islands.
50
DRAFT
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package of skills and facilities to be commercially
successful
53
DRAFT
..
11
Annexes
Annex 1
Field Trip Itinerary, Solomon Islands
9–20 December 2008
Date
Overnight
location
Activity
Tuesday
9 December
Honiara
•
Depart Canberra (QF 948 0625 CAN-BRI 0725)
•
Arrive Honiara (IE 713 0930 BNE-HIR 1320)
•
Delayed departure - leased plane from Air Vanuatu unserviceable so flew on a plane leased
from Air Nauru – true Pacific collaboration. Arrived Honiara 01:30.
Wednesday
10th
Thursday
11th
Friday
12th
Saturday
13th
Sunday
14th
Monday
15th
Honiara
Hoinara
Honiara
Munda
Ringgi
Ringgi
•
Overnight Honiara Hotel
•
08:30 Meeting with MoF – Mr Edward Kingmele (Permanent Secretary) and Mr Reeves
Moven, Forest Commissioner.
•
Meeting with SIFMP. Ross Andrewartha (Team Leader) and Peter Baldwin (Senior Advisor)
•
Meeting with VATA - Julius Houria VATA Timber Manager.
•
Meet with Silent World partners – discussions re logistics and shipping lumber between islands.
•
Tour of Rinandi/logging companies – appointments with Good Wood Director
•
Drinks at the Yacht Club. Discussions with John Casey, Peter Baldwin.
•
Overnight Mendana Hotel
•
09:00. Meet with Austin Holmes, Secretary, Solomon Islands Forestry Association and Managing Director of Earth Movers (a logging company.
•
11:00. Meet with John Casey, EU Sustainable Forestry Project.
•
Overnight Mendana Hotel
•
10:00 Meeting with Nicholas Wong, Omex sawmills.
•
15:00 Meet with Mr L. P. Wong, Good Wood.
•
15:30 Discussions with John Casey, EU Sustainable Forestry Project
•
16:30. Meet with John Wong, Top Timber.
•
Overnight Mendana Hotel.
•
Visited Honiara Port
•
16:30 flight to Munda
•
Overnight Agnes Lodge
•
Morning discussions
•
Discussions with Don Croft (NZ manager of Munda Lodge) re carvings.
•
Pick up by KFPL boat 15:30. Depart to Ringgi (KFPL) via Ziporo Huba Lodge on Lola.
•
Overnight KFPL House. Dinner with Andy Page
•
Meet with Andy Page to discuss KFPL markets.
•
Field visit to KFPL export facilities and plantations with Figert Roger, Chief of Technical
Services. Visited Pulisingau port, Poitete sawmill and arboretum.
54
DRAFT
Date
Overnight
location
Activity
•
Tuesday
16th
Wednesday
17th
Thursday
18th
Friday
19th
Saturday
20th
Honiara
Honiara
Honiara
Honiara
Canberra
Dinner with Paul and Laura Andrews and Andy Page.
•
Overnight KFPL House.
•
Depart KFPL for Noro by boat.
•
Inspection of Noro container terminal. .
•
Meet Buni Milling and reforestation.
•
Travel to Gizo: Lunch at Fat Boys Resort and discussions re carvings and durable timbers for
construction.
•
Meeting with Ex-SWIFT NRDF – Wilco Bosma, Suti Stephen and Marlon Kuve to discuss
marketing locally-sawn timber.
•
Meet with Danny Kennedy and Raini at Gizo Dive Shop re commission sales for carvings.
•
Overnight Gizo - Gelbania’s
•
07:00. Fly to Honiara
•
12:00 Lunchtime discussions with SIFMP/ VATA/ MOF. Presentation on the mission and
expected outputs.
•
13.30 Customs - David Sadler and Christine Heiser
•
16:00 Bruce Saunders BJS Carving + staff.
•
Australian High Commission – Wayne Smith, OSC.
•
Overnight Honiara
•
09:00 Meet CBSI – Vincent Nomae (Rescheduled to 13:00)
•
09:30. Meeting with Nanette Tutua, Timol Enterprises (Also Shane Tutua, Team leader
ACIAR Fluggea/Teak project)
•
Meeting with Island Enterprises, approved agents for AQIS fumigation.
•
11:00 VETE and Greenpeace; Geoff and Phillip Pupuka.
•
13:00: Vincent Nomae, Manager, Economics Department, CBSI.
•
14:00 Ministry of Finance, Bryn Battersby.
•
Inspection of species trials at Honiara Golf Club.
•
Overnight Honiara
•
09:00 Meeting with Nicholas Wong at Omex sawmill
•
11:00 Meeting with Austin Holmes, SFA (cancelled)
•
Carving Shops – market surveys
•
Visit Tropical Quality Furniture. Robert Wao.
•
Meeting with Alan Smith, WWF.
•
13:30 Meeting with Margaret Salini, Director, Economics and Marketing Division, Ministry of
Forestry
•
15:00 Meeting with SIFMP (cancelled)
•
Market fuelwood inspections.
•
Overnight Honiara
•
Depart Honiara 14:30 hrs. (IE 700 14:30 HIR-BNE)
•
Return to Canberra (QF 959 1905 BRI-CAN)
55
DRAFT
Annex 2
People Consulted
L.P Wong
Chairman, Goodwood (Solomons) Limited
PO Box R89, Honiara Solomon Islands
John Wong
Director, Top Timber Company
P.O Box 1836. Honiara
Solomon Islands
Alan Smith
WWF Forestry
P.O Box 1373
SIDT Building, Old China Town,
Honiara, Solomon Islands
John Casey
Project Advisor, EU Sustainable Forestry and Conservation Project
PO Box 1703, Honiara
Solomon Islands
Julius Houria
Chief Forester (Utilisation), and Technical Advisor to
Value Added Timber Association (VATA)
Ministry of Forestry. Honiara, Solomon Islands
Margaret Salini
Chief Forester (Marketing), Ministry of Forestry
PO Box G24, Hoinara, Solomon Islands
Andy Page
Operations Manager, Kolombangara Forest Products
Limited
PO Box 382, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Mark Rowbottom - Allegra Capital
Allegra Capital Pty Ltd ACN 119 502 984
Level 1, 173 Mounts Bay Road
PERTH WA 6000
Basil Gua
Chief Forester (Reforestation and Research),
PO Box G24, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Mr Austin Holmes
General Manager , Earth Movers Group of Companies
Secretary, Solomon Islands Forest Association (SFA)
Mr Bruce Saunders, OBE
Managing Director
BJS Group of Companies
Nicholas Wong,
Sawmill Sales Manager
OMEX Industry Limited
PO Box R110, Honiara
Solomon Islands
Chris Vincent,
Director, South Pacific Timber
12 Carr Rd, Mt Roskill, Auckland, NZ
Dave Cooke
Director & Captain , Silent World Shipping
Meyric Slimming
Director & Captain , Silent World Shipping
David Sadler
Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division
(RAMSI)
Edward Kingmele
Permanent Secretary, MoF
PO Box G24, Honiara
Solomon Islands
Peter Baldwin
Technical Assistant to the Commissioner, SIFMP II.
Peter Eddowes
Director, Asia Pacific Timber Consultants
PO Box 383, Runaway Bay, Queensland 4216
Australia
Peter Mussett
Managing Director, The Woodage
235-239 Old Hume Hwy
PO Box 919 Mittagong,
NSW 2575
Phil Bradford,
Managing Director, Island Enterprise Ltd.
PO Box 364, Honiara,
Solomon Islands
56
DRAFT
Robert Wao,
Tropical Timbers
PO Box 391, Honiara
Solomon Islands
Ross Andrewartha
Team Leader, Solomon Islands Forest Management
Project II.
Tim Blumfield
Centre for Forestry and Horticultural Research, Griffith
University, Brisbane
Queensland 4111
Australia
Simon Le Gassicke
General Manager, Kolombangara Forest Products Limited
PO Box 382, Honiara
Solomon Islands
Bekery Zonga
Office Manager of SIFMP II &
Secretary of VATA.
PO Box G24, Honiara,
Solomon Islands
Geoff Dennis
Chairman of VETE
Greenpeace, SIDT Building
Old China Town, Honiara
Solomon Islands
Harry & Serimah Jas
Buni Milling and Reforestation
Yacht Club Store,
Noro, Solomon Islands
Malcolm Scott
Chairman, Imported Tropical Timbers
Group of New Zealand .
Nanette Tatua
Manager, TIMOL Enterprises
Ranadi, Honiara
Solomon Islands
Reeves Moven
Commissioner Ministry of Forestry
Wilco Bosma
Team Leader Natural Resources Development Foundation (NRDF)
Gizo, Solomon Islands
Vincent D. Nomae
Manager, Economics Department
Central Bank of Solomon Islands
Wryne and Reagan Lingisasa
Carver (Reagan) and carving sales (Wryne)
Gizo, Solomon Islands
Brad Burns,
NSW & Victoria Region Timber Purchasing Manager,
Bunnings Australia
Ken Groves
Forestry Consultant &
Honorary Fellow, ANU
Canberra, Australia
Bryn Battersby
Economic Reform Unit
Ministry of Finance and Treasury
Danny Kennedy
Adventure Sports,
PO Box 21,Gizo,
Solomon Islands
Ian Sedger
Director
Pentarch Forest Products Pty Ltd
Melbourne
Dan Raymond
Former Team Leader of Solomon Islands Forest
Management Project
Kununurra, W.A,
57
DRAFT
Annex 3
Accessing China Customs Data
For log and sawn wood imports from the Solomon Islands
Based on several liaisons with China Customs in January 2009
Prepared and submitted by:
Eugenia Katsigiris
This annex is designed to enable the reader to order
data on log and sawn wood imports to China from the
Solomon Islands, by understanding both the options
available and specific steps and costs of obtaining such
data. As such, it aims to contribute to future efforts to
determine prices at which timber products from the
Solomon Islands are being sold into China. In addition
to information on the data options and steps to be taken
to place an order with China Customs, the annex also
provides data and simple analysis as a ‘case study’ of
an order of Chinese Customs data. The case study covers logs and sawn wood imports from the Solomon
Islands into China in March 2008 and is based on data
obtained from China Customs in January 2009.
The contents covered in this annex are:
1. Types of Data Available and Product Categories
2. Liaison with China Customs and Ordering Data from Abroad
3. Price for Various Data from China Customs
4. Results from Case Study – March 2008 Data
5. Hong Kong Customs Data
Sub-annex A: Listing of China Customs Categories of Wood and Wood Objects
Sub-annex B: Data from China Customs (in format received)
1. Types of data available and
product categories
Types of Data: China Customs has a division known
as ‘China Customs Statistics Consulting Office,’ from
which customs data can be ordered. To order import or
export data (for which both volume and value is provided), one must designate China customs product
classification code(s) and time period (which can be a
month or a year for each item requested). In addition
to designating the product classification code(s) and
time period, one can also get more detailed data by
country of origin and/or port of entry. One can even get
a listing of top importers for particular products (from a
particular country and/or though particular ports if desired); and the order could include from 10 up to 500 of
these companies (if there are that many for the particular product-country-port combination in question).
Along with the listing of top importers, one can get
either the volume or value of imports by each importer
during the designated time period. China Customs confirmed that we cannot, however, pay double to get both
volume and value for the top importers, suggesting an
issue of commercial confidentiality. Finally, data for
individual shipments cannot be provided.
Customs Product Classification Codes: China Customs publishes (in Chinese only) a listing of its product
classification codes in the document Commodity Clas-
Page 59
60
61
62
67
72
83
sification for Chinese Customs Statistics; and these are
required as a first step in placing an order for customs
data. Chapter 44 of the document covers wood and
wood products. In this section, China Customs lists 206
different codes (i.e. product categories), along with
product descriptions for each. We have included this
listing in full, along with our translation of those categories of greatest interest (logs and sawn wood), in
‘Sub-annex A to this annex). There are 28 categories
listed for logs (all begin with the number 4403) and 28
categories listed for sawn wood (all begin with the
number 4407). Category numbers include 4-digit numbers (such as for logs and sawn wood as just mentioned), 6-digit numbers, and 8-digit numbers. The
categories with fewer digits encompass categories with
more digits, so that the 8-digit numbers offer the most
detailed segmentation of products. When placing an
order with China customs, one can choose to order 4digit, 6-digit, or 8-digit product categories, just so these
are listed in the official classification as included in
Sub-annex A. China Customs has explained to us that
the 6-digit numbers comply with international standards, whereas the 8-digit numbers add finer segmentation specific to China’s own system.
Port data is available on the level of customs jurisdiction ports, of which there are about 40 across the country, including inland ones. That is, a certain customs
jurisdiction may have several physical ports, but these
are managed as a single unit and customs data is pro-
58
DRAFT
vided in aggregate for that unit. Examples of very active ‘customs jurisdiction’ ports for timber products are
Huangpu in Guangzhou (Guangdong Province),
Shenzhen in Shenzhen (also Guangdong Province), and
Nanjing (Jiangsu Province).
Recentness of Data: Data for a particular month is
first available at the end of the following month. As
mentioned, data may be ordered for a particular month
(or particular months) or for a particular year (or particular years). For the current year, year-to-date data
can be ordered. The price for each number, whether it
is for a month or for a year, is the same.
2. Liaison with China Customs and
ordering data from abroad
Liaison with China Customs and Ordering Data
from Abroad: Data can be ordered from China Customs from abroad through email liaison (if necessary
supplemented by phone calls). The price for orders
through email will be the same as the prices paid for
the in-person orders discussed in this document. Yet, if
the orders are to be translated into English, the price
will be 1.5 times the basic price described. Email addresses for ordering are sale@hgtj.cn (will put one in
touch with a Ms. Wang who assisted in the orders described in this document) or service@hgtj.cn. Emails
can be written in English, but it is recommended to
write in short, simple, and clear English to facilitate
speedy and accurate response. The phone numbers are
+86-10-65195623 (press ‘1’), or +86-10-6519-5923.
One can ask for Ms. Wang, though others can help as
well. When one sends an email, one will first receive
an immediate automated response (in Chinese), which
promises to answer within one working day. We found
that our emails were sometimes answered in one working day, but sometimes it took longer. Thus, a phone
call is recommended to move things forward if a response is not received in, say, two working days.
China Customs Statistics Consulting Office (which
handles the sale of China Customs’ import and export
data) is located in a side building of the China Customs
headquarters in Beijing at 6 Jianguomennei Daijie, just
inside the second ring road and north of Beijing Train
Station (the older one). They hold drop-in hours from 9
am to 11 am only, weekdays, but accept calls during all
working hours. (We found at times that we could not
always reach someone immediately by phone, though
this may be due to the upcoming Chinese New Year.)
Payment method: Purchases made from abroad can be
paid for by bank transfer. Payments made within China
can be made directly at China Customs Statistics Consulting Office. Bank transfer payment should be made
to the following account:
Name: Beijing Zhonghaitong Keji Company, Ltd.
Bank: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
(ICBC), Beijing Station Branch
Account number: 0200064709067006406
Speed of filling an order: Numbers can be provided in
one or two business days. With a rush fee, they might
be provided even more quickly.
Format of data transmission, translation, and issue
of readability of files sent: The preference of China
Customs is to transmit the data ordered through email.
If the data reports are ordered in English, the price will
be 1.5 times the original price as displayed in the subsequent section. Ordering all reports in English will
certainly be the best option for non-Chinese speakers if
cost is not considered. On the other hand, this obviously raises the price significantly and we may wish to
consider if there are some cases in which, based on the
various codes used and past reports received, a translation would not be necessary, since a non-Chinese
speaker might be able to work out from the Chinese
document what all the numbers mean. For example,
one may be able to look at data for different product
categories based on the product code numbers and,
based on past data received, decipher which data given
are volume and which are value (in USD). So far, all
volume numbers for logs and sawn wood from the
Solomon Islands have been offered in cubic meters and
that this is still the case could be confirmed with the
person we order from through email in the future. Also,
the ports, while listed in Chinese, have numerical codes
as well. Finally, in terms of top importers, if the purpose is not to have the importers name, but rather just
get an idea of the value of each importer’s shipments of
the month, then a translation of that may not be necessary. An important point is that we have found the
China Customs Consulting Office to be helpful in explaining things. Thus, if a full translation is not needed,
they may be willing to explain an item or two (e.g. a
code number for a port) by phone.
A further issue, however, that may make translation
more necessary if corresponding by email is that the
Chinese in the Chinese language files transmitted by
customs are not readable on all computers. That is, for
data received to date and using an English Windows
operating system, we could easily see all numbers and
read English words such as ‘Solomon Islands’, but the
Chinese characters were rendered unreadable. Because
we were able to visit China Customs in person, they
offered us a readable printout. When we asked them
about the origins of the problem, however, Consulting
Customs told us that this is often the case when foreigners order data, even if they speak good Chinese
(and thus presumably have the software for reading
Chinese on their computers). The conclusion they offered is that this is not a software application issue (i.e.
it’s not the case that we could just order new software
to solve the problem), but has to do with the English
versus Chinese Windows operating systems. Given the
situation, customs was willing to print out the files for
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DRAFT
us this time, but this may not be practical from a distance. Yet, faxing may be a possibility. Another option
may be to ask customs to create a PDF file and see if
the Chinese is readable in it. At this point, they were
not willing to commit to these possibilities without a
real situation at hand, but these are perhaps options to
discuss with them further if it is decided that in some
cases we could do without the translation, but would
like to be able to see the Chinese characters.
For more discussion on the translation and readability
issues, the best contact is probably Ms. Wang, whose
contact information is given above.
3. Price for various data from China
Customs
In this section, we present the prices for acquiring
China Customs data as quoted to us by China Customs
in January 2009. Pricing can be complex and rises
quickly as you add more parameters to your request.
The cheapest requests are those that are very simple,
such as volume and value for a particular product code
during a particular time period without designating
country of origin. While this is less relevant to us, since
we would likely always be designating the country of
origin (Solomon Islands), for reference, examples of
prices without country of origin are as follows: For
imports (or exports) for a particular product code during a particular time period (and giving you both volume and value), the price is 10 RMB. Data by port only
designating the product code and time period would be
only 20 RMB per designation (also giving you both
volume and value for all ports in China through which
that product passes – so several value-volume sets of
numbers if the product is entering/existing China
through multiple ports). Listing the top 10 importing
companies for a particular product code and particular
time period would be 100 yuan (with no segmentation
by country of origin or port). You could request either
volume or value (but not both) to go along with these
top 10 importers raising the price to 200 yuan.
The following price table (and the two notes following
it) offer the prices most relevant to us for further work.
These prices in all cases are higher than those indicated
above as they designate country of origin (the Solomon
Islands).
Exhibit 1. Price table
Item
Price (for data reports in Chinese)
By product: volume and value by product category number
for particular exporting country
20 RMB per product category (they also give you the total of
China’s imports aggregated for all countries of origin for this
product category)
By ports (all relevant ports included): volume and value for
imports, broken down by ports, for a particular product from a
particular exporting country
100 RMB per product category (gives you the volume and
value of that product entering each port that is relevant)
Top 10 importers by volume or value (without designation
of port) for a particular product category from a particular
exporting country – Note: can only choose volume or value
and not both
700 RMB per product category – will give you the name of the
top ten importers as well as either the value or volume for each
importer during the time period of interest (but will not break it
down by port)
Top 10 importers by volume or value for each port that is
relevant for a particular product category from a particular
exporting country – Note: can only choose volume or value
and not both
1500 RMB per product category – will give you the name of
the top ten importers for each port through which that product
flows in, as well as either the value or volume for each importer during the time period of interest
Note 1 - Extra service fee: 120 RMB per order. If more than one order placed per month, service fee for first order is 120 RMB and
for subsequent orders it is 70 RMB.
Note 2 - Translation Fee: If the data reports are ordered in English, the price will be 1.5 times the original price as calculated above.
That is, first calculate the cost of the order from Exhibit 1, then add the 120 RMB service fee, and then multiply the total by 1.5.
4. Case study results
Data obtained for China’s imports from
the Solomon Islands for the period March
2008
Data was purchased for the period of March 2008. We
purchased the data in two phases, using the first phase
to inform our second phase purchase. In the first phase,
we ordered value/volume data for the period March
2008 for all categories of logs in the Commodity Classification listing (see Sub-Annex A) we found to be of
potential interest. We also ordered volume/value data
by ports for 4403 (the general log category) to see
which ports were the most active in terms of Solomon
60
DRAFT
Island imports. From this first phase, we found that the
product import categories for logs and sawn wood containing Solomon Island imports are very limited indeed
and that only two ports were involved in log imports in
March 2008. In the next phase, we drilled down further
for the top product categories to see their ports of entry.
And, for the top (and only) 8-digit log category for
imports from the Solomon Islands, we requested the
top 10 importers by port and requested the value of
their imports in March 2008 as well.
•
From the results (displayed in detail in subsequent exhibits), we see that in March 2008:
•
•
Logs: All logs from the Solomon Islands entering
China in March 2008 are lumped into one 8-digit
category: ‘logs of those non-coniferous tree types
not listed’ (‘not listed’ indicates those types not included in other eight-digit categories). The value
of these totaled US$23.695 million or an average
price of $186.57 per cubic meters. All other log
categories of eight digits showed zero imports
from the Solomon Islands.
Sawn wood: Sawn wood imports from the Solomon Islands totaled only 215 m3 with a value of
$97,603. Of this, 86% was in the six digit category
440729 (‘sawn wood made of other tropical
wood’); and the full amount in this six digit category was also in the eight digit category 44072930
(‘sawn wood made from Merbau (kwila)’), indicating 86% of the sawn wood imports were Merbau
(kwila).
Ports:
All log imports from the Solomon Islands during the period came through either Nanjing
Port (93.6% by volume) or Huangpu Port
(6.4% by volume)
o As all logs imports were in the category of
‘other non-coniferous logs’ the port breakdown for ‘other non-coniferous logs’ is the
same as that given above for logs as a
whole.
o For the 184 m3 of sawn wood made from
Merbau (kwila, which represents 86% of
China’s sawn wood imports by volume from
the Solomon Islands), 84% came through
Shanghai Port and 16% came through Shantou
Port (in Guangdong Province)
Requesting the top ten importers by value for each
port importing logs (all of which are in the eightdigit category ‘non-coniferous tree types not
listed’), we found that there were 9 importers in
March 2008 for Nanjing Port and just one importer
for Huangpu Port.
o
•
o
o
The top importer of Solomon Island logs into
Nanjing Port shipped in a CIF value of $5.2
million, which was 23.4% of the total value of
Solomon logs into Nanjing port that month.
Although you cannot order both volume and
value for the importers, because there was
only one importer for Huangpu port that
month and we had requested the value through
Huangpu in a different data request, we can
infer that the one importer through Huangpu
imported 8,093 m3 of Solomon Island logs for
an average price of $147.99 in March 2008. It
would be interesting to ask ourselves whether
this is likely to represents one shipment and
one type of logs, in which case we can use this
information to infer price for a particular tree
type/grade.
The data obtained from China Customs is given in its
original form in Sub-annex B. In this section, in Exhibits 2 through 6, we display the data in more readable
form along with some simple analysis (including average prices and percent of total volumes or values, such
as percent of total volume from the Solomon Islands or
total value through a particular port, etc.).
61
DRAFT
Exhibit 2. Log imports (4403) from the Solomon Islands (213) to China by port, March 2008
Item
Volume
(m3)
Value
(CIF in USD)
Average price (calculated
from foregoing figures)
Fraction of
total volume
Nanjing Port: Solomon log imports through Nanjing Port (in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province)
118,913
$22,497,714
$189.19 per m3
93.6% of
volume from
SI
8,093
$1,197,720
$147.99 per m3
6.4% of volume from SI
127,006
$23,695,434
$186.57 per m3
100% of volume
from SI
Huangpu Port: Solomon log imports through
Huangpu Port (in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province)
Overall log imports from Solomon Islands
to China
Source: China Customs
Exhibit 3. China’s log and sawn wood imports from Solomon Island (and compared to China’s total imports in these
categories), March 2008
Item
Volume
(m3)
Value
(CIF in USD)
Average price
(calculated from
foregoing)
Percent of
total volume
from SI
Fraction of China’s
imports in category
by volume
LOGS
$23,695,434
$186.57 per m3
100%
(log)
3.9%
$557,528,979
$169.56 per m3
-----
----
127,006
$23,695,434
$186.57 per m3
100% (logs)
21%
604,395
$135,947,161
$224.93 per m3
-----
---
215
$97,603
$453.97 per m3
100% (sawn
wood)
<0.1%
583,345
$160,336,546
$274.86 per m3
----
---
184
$88,259
$479.67 per m3
86%
(sawn
wood)
0.6%
30,293
$17,817,520
$588.17 per m3
---
----
184
$88,259
$479.67 per m3
86%
(sawn
wood)
2.6%
7,096
$4,166,350
$587.14 per m3
------
---
4403 ‘logs, whether or not de-barked or
roughly sawn into blocks’ from SI
127,006
4403 China total
3,288,162
44039990 (‘logs of those non-coniferous
tree types not listed’) from SI
44039990 China total
SAWN WOOD
4407 (‘sawn wood: wood sawn or
chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, with
thickness > 6 mm’) from SI
4407 China total
440729 (‘Sawn wood: wood sawn or
thickness > 6 mm that is made of other
tropical woods’) from SI
440729 China total
44072930 (‘sawn wood: wood sawn or
thickness > 6 mm that is made of merbau
(kwila)’) from SI
44072930 China total
62
DRAFT
Exhibit 4. China’s total log and sawn wood imports in categories checked, but for which there were no imports from the Solomon
Islands, March 2008
Item
Volume
(m3)
Value
(CIF in USD)
Average price (calculated from foregoing)
Fraction of
China’s total volume of logs or
sawn wood
LOGS
7,743
$1,765,434
$228.00 per m3
0.2%
of logs
231,681
$73,972,828
$319.29 per m3
7.0%
of logs
6,711
$4,745,007
$707.05 per m3
0.2%
of logs
44034930 ‘Logs of Dipterocarpus spp. Keruing’
41,605
$9,739,522
$234.09 per m3
1.3%
of logs
44034940 ‘Logs of kapur (Dryobalanops
spp.)’
12,486
2,988,510
$239.35 per m3
0.4%
of logs
10,401
$4,630,162
$445.17 per m3
0.3%
of logs
9,514
$1,588,626
$166.98 per m3
0.3%
of logs
3,263
$786,166
$240.93 per m3
<0.1%
of logs
42,982
$17,222,698
$400.70 per m3
1.3%
of logs
17,366
$21,213,722
$1,221.56 per m3
0.5%
of logs
44072600 ‘Sawn wood: wood sawn or chipped
lengthwise, sliced or peeled, with thickness > 6
mm that is made of yellow Meranti and other
woods’
2,781
$796,265
$286.23 per m3
0.5%
of sawn wood
mm that is made of teak’
4,356
$2,894,437
$664.47 per m3
0.8%
mm that is made of African mahogany’
233
$264,608
$1,135.66 per m3
<0.1%
mm that is made of other tropical woods’
18,608
$10,492,125
$563.85 per m3
3.3%
mm that is made of camphor, nanmu, or rose
wood’
4,606
$4,018,453
$872.44 per m3
0.8%
44034100 ‘Logs of Meranti wood (dark red,
light red, and Bakau meranti)’
440349 ‘Logs of other tropical woods listed in
explanatory note 1 of this section’
44034910 ‘Logs of teak wood’
44034950 ‘Logs of Intsia spp. (mengaris)’
44034960 ‘Logs of Koompassia spp. (mengaris
or kempas)’
44034970 ‘Logs of Anisopter spp.’
44034990 ‘Logs of tropical woods not listed in
explanatory note 1 of this section’
44039930 ‘Logs of mahogany’
SAWN WOOD
63
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Exhibit 5. Forest product from the Solomon Islands (213) to China by port for top two product categories, March 2008
Port/Product category
Volume
(m3)
Value
(CIF in USD)
Average price (calculated from foregoing
figures)
Fraction of total
volume from SI
4403990: LOGS OF THOSE NONCONIFEROUS TREE TYPES NOT
LISTED
Nanjing Port (Jiangsu Province)
Huangpu Port (in Guangzhou,
Guangdong Province)
All ports (total)
118,913 m3
$22,497,714
$189.19 per m3
93.6%
8,093 m3
$1,197,720
$147.99 per m3
6.4%
127,006 m3
$23,695,434
$186.57 per m3
100%
of volume from SI
155 m3
$70,021
$451.75 per m3
84%
44072930: SAWN WOOD MADE
FROM MERBAU (KWILA),
THICKNESS >6 MM
Shanghai Port
Shantou Port (Guangdong Province)
All ports (total)
29 m3
$18,238
$628.90 per m3
16%
184 m3
$88,259
$479.67 per m3
100%
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Exhibit 6. Top ten importers of 4403990 (‘Logs of those non-coniferous tree types not listed’) from SI (which also accounts for all
SI log imports to China that month) by port, March 2008
Port/Product category
Volume
(m3)
Value
(CIF in USD)
Average price (calculated from foregoing
figures)
Fraction of total
value from SI
through respective
port
NANJING PORT (Nanjing, Jiangsu Province)
1. Rizhao Meihua Trade Co., Ltd.
NA
$5,273,671
NA
23.4%
2. Ningbo City Hongguang Decoration
Materials Co., Ltd.
NA
$3,891,606
NA
17.3%
3. Jiangsu Shuntian International Group
Machinery Import Export Stock Co., Ltd.
NA
$3,137,317
NA
13.9%
4. Jiangsu Shuntian Machinery Import Co.,
Ltd.
NA
$2,768,311
NA
12.3%
5. Shanghai Shangshi International Trade
(Group) Co., Ltd.
NA
$2,578,605
NA
11.5%
6. Jiangdu City Wanxin Wood Industry
Co., Ltd.
NA
$2,484,199
NA
11.0%
7. Jiangsu Kaiyuan International Group
Co., Ltd.
NA
$1,311,413
NA
5.8%
8. Jiangsu Jianglong Import Export Trade
Co., Ltd.
NA
$738,817
NA
3.3%
9. Ningbo Hengli Wood Industry Co., Ltd.
NA
$313,775
NA
1.4%
Other importers*: portion of total through
Nanjing Port not included in above nine
0
---
0
Total through Nanjing Port
118,913
0
$22,497,714
$189.19
100%
HUANGPU PORT (Guangzhou, Guangdong Province)
1. Foshan City Shunde District Dongshun
Wood Industry Co., Ltd.
Total through Huangpu Port
8,093 (inferred)
$1,197,720
$147.99
100%
8,093
$1,197,720
$147.99
100%
*Note: Our understanding is that we were to get the top ten importers through each port. When we saw a total of only ten for both
ports, we thought there had been a misunderstanding, but totalling the numbers we can see that it is just a coincidence that there were
only a total of nine from the first port and one from the second port.
65
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5. Hong Kong data
Key findings on Hong Kong data are given in the bullets below, with more details in the text and table following:
•
Data of Hong Kong’s imports from the Solomon
Islands is not included in the data from China Customs and instead will need to be sourced from the
Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.
•
Inquiries for data can be directed to
trade@censtatd.gov.hk (phone: 852-2582-4915).
•
The price of data is Hong Kong $16 per page,
which can be emailed in a PDF file format (fulfilling requests for excel file format will be much
more expensive). As noted further below, however, some data may be available for free.
Payment can be made by money transfer in
Hong Kong dollars to the following account:
o Bank Name & Address: The Hong
Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, 1 Queen’s Road, Central,
Hong Kong
o Bank Swift Code: HSBCHKHH
o Account Name: The Government of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Treasury No.1 Collection Account
(Census and Statistics Department)
o Account No.: 002-268126-008
o The handling fee required by banks for wire
transfers is not included in the Department’s
charges of HK$16 per page. Thus, it is recommended that we consult the bank regarding
the handling fee and have that credited direct
from our bank account.
o After the transfer, a copy of the bank receipt
should be sent to the Department by fax (8522802-1101) or email (trade@censtatd.gov.hk).
Upon receipt of payment, the requested trade
statistics will be sent as soon as possible.
o The Department indicates that the HK$16 cost
is on a single user basis and that in the case of
duplication or transfer of the data in whole or
part to any person, company, or organization,
prior consent of the Department should be obtained.
Another division of the Hong Kong Census and
Statistics Department provided us with a method
of identifying all log and sawn wood categories as
delineated by Hong Kong Customs and as would
be needed to make a data request. These include
seven log categories and fourteen sawn wood categories as given in a table later in this section.
Preliminary queries regarding case study data for
March 2008 for imports from the Solomon Islands
(as country of origin) revealed that Hong Kong
had no imports in the seven log categories (so no
o
•
•
•
log imports) and imports in only one of the sawn
wood categories (non-coniferous sawn wood) from
the Solomon Islands that month.
o The cost of such data (non-coniferous sawn
wood imports from the Solomon Islands in
March 2008) will be HK$16, indicating that it
takes up one page or less.
o The statistician responding to our request indicates they can provide only information on
aggregate value and aggregate quantity (by
month or year and by country of origin, if desired) for each customs category. She indicates that they cannot provide information by
trader or by shipment. From previous phone
communications, we had the impression that
provision of information on importers may be
possible. We also understand that the Department may entertain some special requests.
Thus, once the team has confirmed the nature
of its ‘dream data,’ it may be worth enquiring
by phone again to double check.
o Available statistics are based on information contained in import/export declarations lodged by traders. As traders
are allowed by law up to 14 days to
lodge the declarations from the date of
importation/exportation, there may be a
slight time lag between the month of
shipment and the month indicated in the
trade statistics.
o The statistician handling our request through
the email address given above
(trade@censtatd.gov.hk) for March 2008 data
is named Ms. Jennifer Wong. Her phone number is ++852-2582-4914. As she has already
looked into the March 2008 case study request, she would probably be the best person
to deal with if a decision is made to go
through with ordering this data.
Import statistics are published in the free monthly
publication ‘Hong Kong Merchandise Trade Statistics – Imports,’ which is available free for
download at
http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/products_and_services
/products/publications/statistical_report/external_tr
ade/index.jsp Current month and year-to-date figures are shown in each issue. The data is less
finely divided than the for-purchase data and is
country of consignment rather than of origin, but
may meet our requirements. We have found that
data is available for a month or period just about
two months after the end of that month or period.
o Statistics contained in the publications are
classified by SITC codes (each SITC code
may include a few HS codes) and country of
consignment (the country from which the
commodity is imported into Hong Kong, not
necessarily the country of origin). So the ad-
66
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vantage of purchased statistics is the finer degree of classification and confirmed country
of origin.
o The mapping between SITC and HS (which
are the more detailed codes we provide below
and those on which the for-purchase data is
based) are given at the end of the publication
‘Hong Kong Merchandise Trade Statistics
Classification’, which can also be downloaded
at
http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/products_and_ser
vices/products/publications/classification_lists
/index.jsp. We provide the mapping for HS
heading 4403 (logs) and 4407 (sawn wood) to
SITC below our customs categories table. The
results show that there are four SITC categories for seven HS log categories and two SITC
categories for 14 HS sawn wood categories.
o In terms of case study data, according to the
publications indicated:
o In Jan. – Nov. 2008, there were no log
imports from the Solomon Islands.
There were sawn wood imports in the
SITC category 24840 (non-coniferous
sawn wood with thickness greater than 6
mm) during the period of 452 m3, with
a value of HK$2,410,000 (about
US$308,974 or average of US$684 per
m3). None of these imports took place
in November.
o In March 2008, there were no log imports from the Solomon Islands; and
coniferous sawn wood imports in SITC
category 24840 were 87 m3 with a
value of HK$558,000 (about
US$71,538 or average $822 per m3).
• This compares to (as indicated in a
previous section) 215 m3 of sawn
wood valued at US$97,600 or
US$454/m3 imported into China
from the Solomon Islands in March
2008. Log imports from the Solomon Islands into China for the same
period were 127,006 m3 with total
value of about US$23.7 million or
$187/m3.
Additional details on findings and the steps we went
through to get to these are as follows:
While China Customs can provide information on
Mainland China’s imports from and exports to Hong
Kong, they told us we would have to contact Hong
Kong Customs to get Solomon Islands-Hong Kong
data. China Customs further told us that Hong Kong
Customs has an organization from which we can purchase data similar to China Customs Statistics Consulting Office, but did not have further information on this
organization. Yet, upon contact with Hong Kong Customs (www.customs.gov.hk and telephone 852-28157711), we were told that Hong Kong Customs does not
provide the kind of numbers we seek (even for a fee),
but that we should contact Hong Kong’s ‘Census and
Statistics Department’ to see if they have this type of
information available.
Calls to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department confirmed that we can indeed obtain wood product data by country of origin from them. The website of
the department is http://www.censtatd.gov.hk. The key
contact point we have found within the Department is
the Data Enquiry Service for ‘Merchandise Trade Statistics’, which can be reached at headquarters in
Wanchai with the phone number 852-2582-4915 and
email trade@censtatd.gov.hk. We called this number
and were told that the Department can provide data and
charges HK$16 per page. They can provide information on quantity and value and country of origin. We
were also told that they may be able to provide the
names of top importers, though subsequent email
communication (as indicated in our key points above)
indicates this may not be the case. To determine how
many pages (and thus how much total cost) might be
involved, we would need to send an email detailing the
data request to the foregoing email address. Initially,
while we are not sure how much will fit on one page, it
seems that this data will not be very expensive, if indeed the data pre-exists in the format we desire. (One
advantage we have found over the charging method of
China Customs is that the Hong Kong organization will
tell you in advance if there were no imports in a certain
category for your time period of interest, rather than
charging you for checking. Thus, they will only charge
you for those categories in which there were imports.)
If, however, the Hong Kong data needs to be prepared
from scratch, the cost may be higher. Finally, also as
mentioned, data with a less fine degree of detail and
with country of consignment (from which imports are
made) rather than country of origin are available for
free in reports posted on the internet.
The Enquiry service asked that we obtain the eight
digit Hong Kong Customs code numbers for our products of interest before getting back in touch with our
data purchase request. To get the product codes for
timber products, we were referred to another part of the
Department (reached at 852-2877-1818, press 3 for
English and then 1131). We spoke to a Mr. Wu, whose
direct number is 852-2582-4912, to get the full set of
eight-digit code numbers for logs and sawn wood,
which appear to be somewhat different than those used
in Mainland China. (He actually provided us with a
specific search method to get these listed from their
website. For logs, we were to search for ‘wood’ and
then choose the segment of seven listings from the
search returns that covered logs. For sawn wood, we
were to search for ‘sawn wood’ and to then choose the
67
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segment of 14 relevant listings.) After review of the
code numbers (given in the exhibit below), the next
step is to decide which numbers to order and then proceed with contacting the enquiry division.
Both of the persons with whom we talked on the phone
(a women handling enquiries for data purchase and a
gentleman handling our questions on customs categories) spoke English well enough to get the message
clearly across, though sometimes questions or words
had to be repeated.
Other information we have gathered about the Data
Enquiry Service of the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department includes the following, although this
was not confirmed from our experience: ‘A small vol-
ume of data that can be easily retrieved might be provided free of charge in one working day. Larger volumes in the form of photocopies of tabulations or
magnetic diskettes/CD-ROM might be provided at
charge. Users might also copy the data themselves
(with no charge) if they come to the office. If requests
for statistics not readily available from standard tabulations are made, these will be considered at a charge
based on the level of analysis required as well as considerations of confidentiality.’ Yet, from our direct
enquiry described above, it seems that for longdistance ordering, a Hong Kong $16 fee per page will
be assessed; and the special requests (on importers or
individual shipments) we may have might not be something that the Department can provide to us.
68
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Exhibit 7. Hong Kong Commodity Codes
Note: In contrast to China, all categories are eight digits. While some seem to encompass other ones (such as the first one, 44031000,
which seems like China’s 4403) our initial impression is that the imports included in each category are distinct. Further confirmation
on this issue, however, may be needed.
Code
Description
Units
44031000
Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood or roughly squared, treated
with paint, stain, creosote or other preservatives
m3
44032000
Coniferous wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood or roughly
squared, not treated
m3
44034100
Dark red meranti, light red meranti and meranti bakau in therough, whether or not stripped of
bark or sapwood or roughlysquared, not treated
m3
44034900
Other tropical wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood or roughly
squared, nesoi
m3
44039100
Oak (Quercus spp.) Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark of sapwood, or
roughly squared, not treated
m3
44039200
Beech (Fagus spp.) Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or
m3
44039900
Non-coniferous wood in the rough, nesoi, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or
m3
44071000
Coniferous wood, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm
m3
44072100
Mahogany (Swietenia spp.), sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not
planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm
m3
44072200
Virola, imbuia and balsa, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
m3
44072500
Dark red meranti, light red meranti and meranti bakau, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or
peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm
m3
44072600
Tropical wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled whether or not planned etc., of
white lauan, white meranti, white seraya, yellow meranti and alan, over 6 mm thick
m3
44072700
Sapelli, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or endjointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm
m3
44072800
Iroko, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or endjointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm
m3
44072900
Tropical wood, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled,whether or not planed, sanded or
end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm, nesoi
m3
44079100
Oak (Quercus spp.), sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
m3
44079200
Beech (Fagus spp.), sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
m3
44079300
Maple (Acer spp.), sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
m3
44079400
Cherry (Prunus spp.), sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
m3
44079500
Ash (Fraxinus spp.), sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
m3
44079900
Non-coniferous wood, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,
sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm, nesoi
m3
Logs
Sawn wood
Exhibit 8. Mapping of HS Codes Above to SITC Codes,
the latter for which annually and montly import data is available free on the internet
69
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SITC Code
HS Code
Logs
Logs
24730
4403 1000
24740
4403 2000
24750
4403 4100; 4403 4900
24790
4403 9100; 4403 9200; 4403 9900
Sawn wood
Sawn wood
24820
4407 1000
24840
4407 2100; 4407 2200; 4407 2500; 4407 2600; 4407 2700; 4407 2800; 4407 2900; 4407 9100; 4407 9200;
4407 9300; 4407 9400; 4407 9500; 4407 9900
70
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Sub-annex A: China Customs categories of wood and wood products
Line
Code
Chinese description
English description
1
44
第44章木及木制品；木炭
Section 44: wood and wood products; charcoal
---
2
4401
薪柴；木片或木粒；锯末、木废料及碎片
Fuel wood; wood chips or wood particles; sawdust, wood waste, and
wood scraps
kg
44011000
薪柴（圆木段、块、枝、成捆或类似形状）
Fuel wood (pieces of round wood, blocks, sticks, bundles, or similar
shapes)
kg
4
44012100
针叶木的木片或木粒
Wood chips or particles made of coniferous wood
kg
5
44012200
非针叶木的木片或木粒
Wood chips or particles made of non-coniferous wood
kg
6
44013000
锯末、木废料及碎片
Sawdust, wood waste, and wood scraps
kg
4402
木炭（包括果壳炭及果核炭），不论是否结块
Charcoal (including that made from fruit peels and kernels), whether or
not it is formed into blocks
kg
8
44021000
竹炭，不论是否结块
Bamboo charcoal, whether or not it is formed into blocks
kg
9
44029000
其他木炭，不论是否结块
Other charcoal, whether or not it is formed into blocks
3
7
Units
kg
3
4403
原木，不论是否去皮、去边材或粗锯成方
Logs, whether or not de-barked or roughly sawn into blocks
m or kg
44031000
用油漆、着色剂、杂酚油等防腐剂处理的原木
Logs that are painted or have been treated with coloring agents, cresol oil,
preservatives, etc.
m3 or kg
440320
其他，针叶木原木
Other, coniferous logs
m3 or kg
44032010
红松和樟子松原木
Logs of Pinus koraiensis (Korean pine) and Pinus sylvestris (Mongolian
scotch pine)
m3 or kg
44032020
白松（云杉和冷杉）原木
Logs of white pine (spruce or fir)
m3 or kg
44032030
辐射松原木
Logs of radiata pine
m3 or kg
44032040
落叶松原木
Logs of larch
m3 or kg
44032090
未列名针叶木原木
Logs of those coniferous tree types not listed.
m3 or kg
18
44034100
（深红色、浅红色及巴栲）红柳安木原木
Logs of meranti wood (dark red, light red, and Bakau meranti)
m3 or kg
19
440349
其他本章子目注释1所列热带木原木
Logs of other tropical woods listed in explanatory note 1 of this section
m3 or kg
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
71
DRAFT
Line
20
21
22
23
24
Code
Chinese description
English description
Units
44034910
柚木原木
Logs of teak wood
m3 or kg
44034920
奥克曼木Okoume（奥克榄）原木
Logs of okoume wood
m3 or kg
44034930
龙脑香木Dipterocarpus spp.克隆木原木
Logs of Dipterocarpus spp.keruing
m3 or kg
44034940
山樟木（香木Dryobalanops spp.）原木
Logs of kapur (Dryobalanops spp.)
m3 or kg
44034950
印加木Intsia spp.（波罗格Mengaris）原木
Logs of Intsia spp. (mengaris)
m3 or kg
Logs of Koompassia spp. (mengaris or kempas)
m3 or kg
25
44034960
大干巴豆木（门格里斯或康派斯）原木
44034970
异翅香木Anisopter spp.原木
Logs of Anisopter spp.
m3 or kg
27
44034990
未列名本章子目注释1所列热带木原木
Logs of tropical woods not listed in explanatory note 1 of this section
m3 or kg
28
44039100
栎木(橡木）原木
Logs of oak wood
m3 or kg
29
44039200
山毛榉木原木
Logs of beech wood
m3 or kg
30
440399
其他非针叶木原木
Logs of other non-coniferous tree species
m3 or kg
44039910
楠木原木
Logs of nanmu (Phoebe nanmu)
m3 or kg
44039920
樟木原木
Logs of camphorwood
m3 or kg
44039930
红木原木
Logs of mahogany
m3 or kg
44039940
泡桐木原木
Logs of paulownia wood
m3 or kg
44039950
水曲柳原木
Logs of ash wood
m3 or kg
44039960
北美硬阔叶木（包括樱桃木等）原木
Logs of North American hard woods/broad-leafed tress (including cherry
wood, etc.)
m3 or kg
44039980
未列名的温带非针叶木原木
Logs of those temperate non-coniferous tree types not listed.
m3 or kg
26
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
72
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Line
38
Code
Chinese description
English description
44039990
未列名非针叶木原木
Logs of those non-coniferous tree types not listed.
39
4404
箍木、木劈条、木桩、木片及粗修整的木棒等
40
44041000
针叶木箍木、木劈条、木片及粗修整的木棒等
41
42
43
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
Hoop wood; split poles; piles, pickets, and stakes of wood; wooden sticks;
chip wood and the like, etc.
kg
chip wood and the like, etc. – all of which when made from coniferous
wood
kg
chip wood and the like, etc. – all of which when made from ‘other wood’
(i.e. non-coniferous wood)
kg
44042000
其他木箍木、木劈条、木片及粗修整的木棒等
4405
木丝；木粉
Wood wool; wood flour
kg
44050000
木丝；木粉
Wood wool; wood flour
kg
铁道及电车道枕木
Railway and tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood
m3
4406
44061000
未浸渍铁道及电车道枕木
Railway and tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood that have not been
impregnated/filled
m3
44069000
已浸渍铁道及电车道枕木
Railway and tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood that have been impregnated/filled
m3
4407
经纵锯、纵切、刨或旋切的木材，厚＞6mm
Sawn wood: wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, with
thickness > 6 mm
m3 or kg
440710
经纵锯、纵刨旋切的针叶木木材，厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of coniferous wood
m3 or kg
44071010
纵锯纵切刨或旋切红松和樟子松木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of Korean pine and Mongolia scotch pine
m3 or kg
44071020
纵锯切刨或旋切白松(云、冷杉)木材,厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of white pine (spruce and fir)
m3 or kg
44071030
纵锯、纵切刨或旋切的辐射松木材，厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of radiata pine
m3 or kg
44071040
经纵锯、纵切刨或旋切的花旗松木材,厚＞6mm Sawn wood: wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, with
m3 or kg
44
45
Units
m3 or kg
73
DRAFT
Line
Code
Chinese description
44071090
其他纵锯切、刨或旋切的针叶木木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of other conifers
44072100
经纵锯切刨或旋切的美洲桃花心木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of North American mahogany
44072200
经纵锯切刨或旋切的肉豆蔻木等木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of virola, etc. wood
53
54
55
56
60
61
62
63
m3 or kg
m3 or kg
thickness > 6 mm that is made of dark or light red meranti and meranti
bakara
m3 or kg
m3 or kg
thickness > 6 mm that is made of sapele wood.
m3 or kg
thickness > 6 mm that is made of iroko (African teak)
m3 or kg
m3 or kg
44072600
纵锯切刨或旋切的白黄柳安木等木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of yellow meranti and other woods
44072700
纵锯切刨或旋切的沙比利木材,厚＞6mm
44072800
纵锯切刨或旋切的伊罗科木木材,厚＞6mm
440729
其他经纵锯切刨或旋切的热带木木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of other tropical woods
44072910
经纵锯切刨切或旋切的柚木木材,厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of teak
m3 or kg
44072920
纵锯切刨或旋切非洲桃花心木木材,厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of African mahogany
m3 or kg
44072930
经纵锯切、刨或旋切的波罗格木木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of merbau (kwila)
m3 or kg
thickness > 6 mm that is made of other tropical woods
m3 or kg
thickness > 6 mm that is made of oak
m3 or kg
64
65
m3 or kg
经纵锯切刨或旋切的红柳安木材，厚＞6mm
59
Units
44072500
57
58
English description
thickness > 6 mm that is made of Douglas-fir
44072990
其他纵锯切、刨或旋切的热带木木材,厚＞6mm
44079100
经纵锯纵切、刨或旋切的栎木木材,厚＞6mm
74
DRAFT
Line
66
67
Code
Chinese description
English description
44079200
经纵锯纵切、刨或旋切山毛榉木木材,厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of beech
m3 or kg
44079300
经纵锯纵切、刨或旋切枫木木材,厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of maple
m3 or kg
经纵锯纵切、刨或旋切樱桃木木材,厚＞6mm
m3 or kg
44079400
thickness > 6 mm that is made of cherry wood
44079500
经纵锯纵切、刨或旋切白蜡木木材,厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of ash
m3 or kg
440799
其他纵锯切刨或旋切的非针叶木木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of non-coniferous wood
m3 or kg
44079910
纵锯切刨或旋切的樟木、楠木、红木,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of camphor, nanmu, or rose wood
m3 or kg
44079920
经纵锯切、刨或旋切的泡桐木木材，厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of paulownia wood
m3 or kg
44079930
经纵锯切、刨或旋切的北美硬阔叶材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of North America hardwood/broadleaf
m3 or kg
44079980
纵锯切刨或旋切其他温带非针叶木材,厚＞6mm thickness > 6 mm that is made of other temperate non-coniferous woods
m3 or kg
m3 or kg
kg
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
Units
44079990
其他纵锯切、刨或旋切的非叶木木材,厚＞6mm
thickness > 6 mm that is made of the wood of other leaf-less tress
4408
饰面或制胶合板单板等木材，厚度≤6mm
Sheets for veneering, plywood, or other similar laminating wood, etc.,
with thickness =<6 mm
77
440810
经纵锯、或切的针叶木木材，厚≤6mm
kg
78
44081011
用胶合板等制的针叶木饰面用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
79
44081019
其他针叶木饰面用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
80
44081020
针叶木制胶合板用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
81
44081090
其他纵锯切、刨或旋切的针叶木木材,厚≤6mm
kg
82
440831
经纵锯切、刨或旋切的红柳安木木材,厚≤6mm
kg
83
44083111
用胶合板等制饰面单板,红柳安木制,厚≤6mm
kg
76
75
DRAFT
Line
Code
Chinese description
84
English description
44083119
其他饰面用单板,红柳安木制,厚≤6mm
kg
85
44083120
制胶合板用单板，红柳安木制，厚≤6mm
kg
86
44083190
其他纵锯切刨或旋切的红柳安木木材,厚≤6mm
kg
87
440839
其他纵锯切、刨或旋切的热带木木材,厚≤6mm
kg
88
44083911
用胶合板等制其他热带木饰面用单板厚≤6mm
kg
89
44083919
其他其他热带木制饰面用单板,厚≤6mm
kg
90
44083920
其他热带木制胶合板用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
91
44083990
其他纵锯切、刨或旋切的热带木木材,厚≤6mm
kg
92
440890
其他纵锯切、刨或旋切的非针叶木材厚≤6mm
kg
93
44089011
用胶合板等制其他非针叶木饰面单板厚≤6mm
kg
94
44089012
温带非针叶木制其他饰面用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
95
44089019
其他非针叶木饰面用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
96
44089021
温带非针叶木制胶合板用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
97
44089029
其他非针叶木制胶合板用单板，厚≤6mm
kg
98
44089091
温带非针叶木制经纵刨旋切的木材，厚≤6mm
kg
99
44089099
其他非针叶木制经纵刨旋切的木材，厚≤6mm
kg
100
4409
任何一边、端或面制成连续形状的木材
101
440910
任何一边、端或面制成连续形状的针叶木木材
kg
102
44091010
任一边、端或面制成连续形状针叶木地板条
kg
103
44091090
其他任一边、端或面制成连续形状针叶木木材
kg
104
440921
任何一边、端或面制成连续形状竹材
kg
105
44092110
任何一边、端或面制成连续形状的竹地板条块
kg
106
44092190
其他任何一边、端或面制成连续形状的竹材
kg
107
440929
任何一边、端或面制成连续形状其他非针叶木
kg
Wood continuously shaped along any of its edges, ends or faces
76
Units
kg
DRAFT
Line
Code
Chinese description
108
English description
44092910
其他任一边、端或面成连续状非针叶木地板条
kg
109
44092990
其他任一边、端或面成连续形状非针叶木木材
kg
110
4410
木或木质材料制碎料板、定向刨花板及类似板
111
44101100
木制碎料板
kg
112
44101200
木制定向刨花板（OSB）
kg
113
44101900
其他木制类似板（例如，华夫板）
kg
114
44109000
其他木质材料制碎料板、定向刨花板及类似板
kg
115
4411
木纤维板或其他木质材料纤维板
116
441112
中密度纤维板（MDF），厚度不超过5毫米
kg
117
44111211
未机械加工中密度板d＞0.8g/cu cm厚≤5mm
kg
118
44111219
经机械加工中密度板d＞0.8g/cu cm厚≤5mm
kg
119
44111220
中密度板0.5g/cu cm＜d≤0.8g/cu cu厚≤5mm
kg
120
44111291
未加工中密度板d≤0.5g/cu cm厚≤5mm
kg
121
44111299
加工中密度板d≤0.5g/cu cm厚≤5mm
kg
122
441113
中密度纤维板（MDF），5mm＜厚≤9mm
kg
123
44111311
未加工中密度板d＞0.8g/cu cm5mm＜厚≤9mm
kg
124
44111319
加工中密度板d＞0.8g/cu cm5mm＜厚≤9mm
kg
125
44111320
中密度板 0.5g＜d≤0.8g5mm＜厚≤9mm
kg
126
44111391
未加工中密度板d≤0.5g/cu cm5mm＜厚≤9mm
kg
127
44111399
加工中密度板d≤0.5g/cu cm5mm＜厚≤9mm
kg
128
441114
中密度纤维板（MDF），厚度超过9毫米
kg
129
44111411
未加工中密度板d＞0.8g/cu cm 厚＞9mm
kg
130
44111419
加工中密度板d＞0.8g/cu cm 厚＞9mm
kg
131
44111420
中密度板0.5g/cu cm＜d≤0.8g/cu cm厚＞9mm
kg
Particle board or similar board of wood or other ligneous materials
Fiberboard of wood or other ligneous materials
77
Units
kg
kg
DRAFT
Line
Code
Chinese description
132
English description
44111491
未加工中密度板d≤0.5g/cu cm厚＞9mm
kg
133
44111499
未加工中密度板d≤0.5g/cu cm厚＞9mm
kg
134
441192
其他木纤维板，密度（d）＞0.8g/cu cm
kg
135
44119210
未加工木纤维板，密度（d）＞0.8g/cu cm
kg
136
44119290
加工木纤维板，密度（d）＞0.8g/cu cm
kg
137
44119300
木纤板，0.5g/cu cm＜d≤0.8g/cu cm
kg
138
441194
其他木纤维板，密度（d）≤0.5g/cu cm
kg
139
44119410
木纤板，0.35g/cu cm＜d≤0.5g/cu cm
kg
140
44119421
未加工木纤板，d≤0.35g/cu cm
kg
141
44119429
加工木纤板，d≤0.35g/cu cm
kg
142
4412
胶合板、单板饰面板及类似的多层板
143
441210
竹制胶合板、单板饰面板及类似的多层板
m3 or kg
144
44121011
薄板制竹胶合板至少一表层热带木层厚≤6mm
m3 or kg
145
44121019
其他薄板制竹胶板单板饰面板多层板厚≤6mm
m3 or kg
146
44121020
其他薄板制竹胶板,单板饰面板及类似多层板
m3 or kg
147
44121091
其他竹胶合板单板饰面板至少有一表层热带木
m3 or kg
148
44121092
其他竹胶合板类似多层板至少一表层木碎料板
m3 or kg
149
44121099
其他竹制胶合板、单板饰面板及类似的多层板
m3 or kg
150
44123100
其他薄板制胶合板至少一表层是热带木厚≤6
m3 or kg
151
441232
其他薄板制胶合板至少一表层是非针叶木
m3 or kg
152
44123210
其他薄板制胶合板至少一表层是温带木厚≤6
m3 or kg
153
44123290
其他薄板制胶合板至少一表层非针叶木厚≤6
m3 or kg
154
44123900
其他薄板制胶合板厚≤6mm
m3 or kg
155
441294
其他木块芯、侧板条芯、板条芯胶合板
m3 or kg
Plywood, veneered panels, and similar laminated wood
78
Units
m3 or kg
DRAFT
Line
Code
Chinese description
English description
Units
156
44129410
其他木块芯胶合板等至少一表层是非针叶木
m3 or kg
157
44129491
其他木块芯胶合板等至少一表层是热带木
m3 or kg
158
44129492
其他木块芯胶合板等至少一表层是木碎料板
m3 or kg
159
44129499
其他木块芯、侧板条芯、板条芯胶合板
m3 or kg
160
441299
其他胶合板、单板饰面板及类似的多层板
m3 or kg
161
44129910
其他胶合板等至少一表层是非针叶木
m3 or kg
162
44129991
其他胶合板等至少一表层是热带木层
m3 or kg
163
44129992
其他胶合板等至少一表层是木碎料板
m3 or kg
164
44129999
未列名胶合板、单板饰面板及类似的多层板
m3 or kg
165
4413
强化木，成块、板、条或异形的
166
44130000
强化木，成块、板、条或异形的
167
4414
木制的画框、相框、镜框及类似品
168
44140000
木制的画框、相框、镜框及类似品
4415
木制箱、盒、桶等包装容器及电缆卷筒等
170
44151000
木制箱、盒、桶及类似的包装容器；电缆卷筒
Items or kg
171
44152000
木托板、箱形托盘及其他装载木板；托盘护框
Items or kg
4416
木制大桶、琵琶桶、盆等木制箍桶及其零件
44160000
木制大桶、琵琶桶、盆等木制箍桶及其零件
4417
木制工具等；扫帚及刷子等；木鞋靴楦及楦头
175
44170000
木制工具等；扫帚及刷子等；木鞋靴楦及楦头
176
4418
建筑用木工制品
177
44181000
木制窗、法兰西式（落地）窗及其木制框架
kg
178
44182000
木制门及其框架和门槛
kg
169
172
173
174
Densified wood in block, plates, strips, or profile shapes
kg
kg
Wooden frames for paintings, photographs, mirrors, or similar objects
kg
kg
Packing and similar packings of wood; cable drums of wood; pallets and
other load boards of wood; pallet collars of wood
Casks, barrels, vats, tubs and other coopers’ products and parts thereof, of
wood
Items or kg
kg
kg
Tools, tool bodies, tool handles, broom and brush bodies and handles, of
wood; boot or shoe lasts and tress, of wood
kg
kg
Builders joinery and carpentry wood
79
kg
DRAFT
Line
Code
Chinese description
179
44184000
木制水泥构件的模板
kg
180
44185000
木瓦及木制盖屋板
kg
181
44186000
木制柱及樑
kg
182
44187100
马赛克地板用已装拼的木地板
kg
183
44187200
其他多层已装拼的木地板
kg
184
44187900
其他已装拼的木地板
kg
185
44189000
其他建筑用木工制品
kg
186
4419
木制餐具及厨房用具
187
441900
木制餐具及厨房用具
kg
188
44190031
木制一次性筷子
kg
189
44190032
竹制一次性筷子
kg
190
44190039
其他木质一次性筷子
kg
191
44190090
其他木制餐具及厨房用具
kg
4420
镶嵌木；木珠宝盒及装饰品等
193
442010
木制小雕像及装饰品
kg
194
44201010
木刻及竹刻
kg
195
44201020
木扇
kg
196
44201090
其他木制小雕像及装饰品
kg
197
442090
镶嵌木;珠宝或刀具木盒类似品;94章外木家具
kg
198
44209010
镶嵌木
kg
199
44209090
珠宝或刀具木盒及类似品；第94章以外木家具
kg
200
4421
其他木制品
201
44211000
木制衣架
192
English description
Tableware and kitchenware of wood
Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewelry or cutlery, and similar articles of wood, etc.
Other articles of wood
80
Units
kg
kg
kg
kg
DRAFT
Line
Code
Chinese description
202
English description
Units
442190
其他木制品
kg
203
44219010
木制卷轴、纡子、筒管、缝纫用线轴及类似品
kg
204
44219021
木制圆签圆棒冰果棒压舌片及类似一次性制品
kg
205
44219022
竹制圆签圆棒冰果棒压舌片及类似一次性制品
kg
206
44219029
其他木质圆签冰果棒压舌片及类似一次性制品
kg
207
kg
44219090
未列名木制品
Explanatory Note 1: This was not included in the Chinese listing provided by customs. If needed, follow up with China Customs Consulting Office through email is suggested prior to making an
order.
81
DRAFT
Sub-Annex B: Data from China Customs in format received
Note: This data was ordered in Chinese, but operating system issues render the Chinese text illegible, while numbers
and English text can be read. Ordering data reports fully translated in English costs 1.5 times the price of those prepared
in Chinese.
First Order, Item 1: Volume and value of log (4403) imports from the Solomon Islands by port for March 2008
2008Äê3ÔÂ½ø¿ÚËÄÎ»ÉÌÆ·/Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð/¹Ø±ðÁ¿Öµ±í
µ¥Î»£ºÃÀÔª
ËÄÎ»ÉÌÆ·
|¼Æ Á¿|
3ÔÂ
Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð
| |----------------------------------¹Ø±ð
|µ¥ Î»| Êý Á¿ | ½ð ¶î
4403 ÔÄ¾£¬²»ÂÛÊÇ·ñÈ¥Æ¤¡¢È¥±ß²Ä»ò´Ö¾â³É·½
613 Solomon Is
23 ÄÏ¾©º£¹Ø
52 »ÆÆÒº£¹Ø
Á¢·½Ã× 3,288,162 557,528,979
127,006 23,695,434
118,913 22,497,714
8,093 1,197,720
±¨±íÌá¹©: È«¹úº£¹ØÐÅÏ¢ÖÐÐÄ º£¹Ø×ÊÑ¶Íø http://www.hgtj.cn µç»°:6519.5623
First Order, Item 2: Volume and value of log and sawn wood imports from the Solomon Islands by product
category for March 2008
Page 1
2008Äê3ÔÂ½ø¿Ú°ËÎ»ÉÌÆ·/Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ðÁ¿Öµ±í
°ËÎ»ÉÌÆ·
Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð
|¼Æ Á¿|
3ÔÂ
| |----------------------------------|µ¥ Î»| Êý Á¿ | ½ð ¶î
44034100 £¨ÉîºìÉ«¡¢Ç³ºìÉ«¼°°Íèà£©ºìÁø°²Ä¾ÔÄ¾ Á¢·½Ã×
7,743 1,765,434
44034910 èÖÄ¾ÔÄ¾
Á¢·½Ã×
6,711 4,745,007
44034930 ÁúÄÔÏãÄ¾Dipterocarpus spp.¿ËÂ¡Ä¾ÔÄ¾ Á¢·½Ã×
41,605 9,739,522
44034940 É½ÕÁÄ¾£¨ÏãÄ¾Dryobalanops spp.£©ÔÄ¾ Á¢·½Ã×
12,486 2,988,510
44034950 Ó¡¼ÓÄ¾Intsia spp.£¨²¨ÂÞ¸ñMengaris£©ÔÄ¾ Á¢·½Ã×
10,401 4,630,162
44034960 ´ó¸É°Í¶¹Ä¾£¨ÃÅ¸ñÀïË¹»ò¿µÅÉË¹£©ÔÄ¾ Á¢·½Ã×
9,514 1,588,626
44034970 Òì³áÏãÄ¾Anisopter spp.ÔÄ¾
Á¢·½Ã×
3,263 786,166
44034990 Î´ÁÐÃû±¾ÕÂ×ÓÄ¿×¢ÊÍ1ËùÁÐÈÈ´øÄ¾ÔÄ¾ Á¢·½Ã×
42,982 17,222,698
44039930 ºìÄ¾ÔÄ¾
Á¢·½Ã×
604,395 135,947,161
613 Solomon Is
127,006 23,695,434
44072600 ×Ý¾âÇÐÅÙ»òÐýÇÐµÄ°×»ÆÁø°²Ä¾µÈÄ¾²Ä,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã× 2,781
796,265
44072910 ¾×Ý¾âÇÐÅÙÇÐ»òÐýÇÐµÄèÖÄ¾Ä¾²Ä,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã× 4,356 2,894,437
44072920 ×Ý¾âÇÐÅÙ»òÐýÇÐ·ÇÖÞÌÒ»¨ÐÄÄ¾Ä¾²Ä,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã×
233
264,608
44072930 ¾×Ý¾âÇÐ¡¢ÅÙ»òÐýÇÐµÄ²¨ÂÞ¸ñÄ¾Ä¾²Ä,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã× 7,096 4,166,350
613 Solomon Is
184
88,259
44072990 ÆäËû×Ý¾âÇÐ¡¢ÅÙ»òÐýÇÐµÄÈÈ´øÄ¾Ä¾²Ä,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã× 18,608 10,492,125
44079910 ×Ý¾âÇÐÅÙ»òÐýÇÐµÄÕÁÄ¾¡¢éªÄ¾¡¢ºìÄ¾,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã× 4,606 4,018,453
Page 2
2008Äê3ÔÂ½ø¿ÚËÄÎ»ÉÌÆ·/Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ðÁ¿Öµ±í
82
82
DRAFT
ËÄÎ»ÉÌÆ·
Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð
|¼Æ Á¿|
3ÔÂ
| |----------------------------------|µ¥ Î»| Êý Á¿ | ½ð ¶î
4407 ¾×Ý¾â¡¢×ÝÇÐ¡¢ÅÙ»òÐýÇÐµÄÄ¾²Ä£¬ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã×
613 Solomon Is
215
97,603
568,345
160,336,546
Page 3
2008Äê3ÔÂ½ø¿ÚÁùÎ»ÉÌÆ·/Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ðÁ¿Öµ±í
ÁùÎ»ÉÌÆ·
Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð
|¼Æ Á¿|
3ÔÂ
| |----------------------------------|µ¥ Î»| Êý Á¿ | ½ð ¶î
440349 ÆäËû±¾ÕÂ×ÓÄ¿×¢ÊÍ1ËùÁÐÈÈ´øÄ¾ÔÄ¾
Á¢·½Ã×
440729 ÆäËû¾×Ý¾âÇÐÅÙ»òÐýÇÐµÄÈÈ´øÄ¾Ä¾²Ä,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã×
613 Solomon Is
184
88,259
231,681 73,972,828
30,293 17,817,520
Second Order, Item 1: Volume and Value by Port for Import of Two Top Product Codes (44039990 and
44072930) from Solomon Islands for March 2008
2008Äê03ÔÂ½ø¿Ú°ËÎ»ÉÌÆ·/Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð/¹Ø±ðÁ¿Öµ±í
°ËÎ»ÉÌÆ·
|¼Æ Á¿|
03ÔÂ
Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð
| |----------------------------------¹Ø±ð
|µ¥ Î»| Êý Á¿ | ½ð ¶î
44039990 Î´ÁÐÃû·ÇÕëÒ¶Ä¾ÔÄ¾
Á¢·½Ã×
604,395 135,947,161
613 Solomon Is
127,006 23,695,434
23 ÄÏ¾©º£¹Ø
118,913 22,497,714
52 »ÆÆÒº£¹Ø
8,093 1,197,720
44072930 ¾×Ý¾âÇÐ¡¢ÅÙ»òÐýÇÐµÄ²¨ÂÞ¸ñÄ¾Ä¾²Ä,ºñ£¾6mm Á¢·½Ã×
7,096 4,166,350
613 Solomon Is
184
88,259
22 ÉÏº£º£¹Ø
155
70,021
60 ÉÇÍ·º£¹Ø
29
18,238
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------±¨±íÌá¹©: È«¹úº£¹ØÐÅÏ¢ÖÐÐÄ º£¹Ø×ÊÑ¶Íø http://www.hgtj.cn µç»°:6519.5623
Second Order, Item 2: Top 10 importers by port for product code 44039990 from Solomon Islands, giving value
imported in March 2008
2008Äê3ÔÂ½ø¿Ú°ËÎ»ÉÌÆ·/Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð/¹Ø±ð/¾Óªµ¥Î»Ç°10Î»Á¿Öµ±í
°ËÎ»ÉÌÆ·
|¼Æ Á¿|
3ÔÂ
Ó¢ÎÄ¹ú±ð
| |----------------------------------¹Ø±ð/¾Óªµ¥Î»
|µ¥ Î»| Êý Á¿ | ½ð ¶î
44039990 Î´ÁÐÃû·ÇÕëÒ¶Ä¾ÔÄ¾
Á¢·½Ã×
604,395 135,947,161
613 Solomon Is
127,006 23,695,434
23 ÄÏ¾©º£¹Ø
118,913 22,497,714
3711961056 ÈÕÕÕÃÀ»ªÃ³Ò×ÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
5,273,671
83
83
DRAFT
3302961039 Äþ²¨ÊÐºì¹â×°ÊÎ²ÄÁÏÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
3,891,606
3201919018 ½ËÕË´Ìì¹ú¼Ê¼¯ÍÅ»úÐµ½ø³ö¿Ú¹É·ÝÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
3,137,317
3201919287 ½ËÕË´Ìì»úÐµ½ø¿ÚÓÐÏÞÔðÈÎ¹«Ë¾
2,768,311
3104915037 ÉÏº£ÉÏÊµ¹ú¼ÊÃ³Ò×(¼¯ÍÅ)ÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
2,578,605
3210960607 ½¶¼ÊÐÍòÐÂÄ¾ÒµÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
2,484,199
3201919199 ½ËÕ¿ªÔª¹ú¼Ê¼¯ÍÅÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
1,311,413
3210950636 ½ËÕ½Áú½ø³ö¿ÚÃ³Ò×ÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
738,817
3302941171 Äþ²¨ºãÀûÄ¾ÒµÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
313,775
52 »ÆÆÒº£¹Ø
1,197,720
4422931066 ·ðÉ½ÊÐË³µÂÇø¶«Ë³Ä¾ÒµÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾
1,197,720
84
84
DRAFT
Annex 4
Value-Adding Options for Solomon Island Timbers
Report prepared for the Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade (FACT) Project, Secretariat of The Pacific Community, Suva, Fiji.
Author:
Peter J. Eddowes
Asia Pacific Timber Consultants
T/A Grokelo Pty Ltd
PO Box 383, Runaway Bay
Queensland 4216 Australia
Introduction
The original ‘concept’ of the portable/mobile sawmill
was for cutting large slabs and/or flitches for a specific
purpose e.g. railway ties or for ‘breaking-down’ the
felled, merchantable bole into convenient handling
sizes for ease of transportation back to a main sawmill
for ‘re-sawing’ into specified sizes, preferably by a
thin-kerfed (3mm) bandsaw (100mm) blade. Unfortunately, this concept has now been all but ignored, and
the mobile/portable mills have been turned into a
‘commercial-type’ production mill which is not what
they were originally intended or designed for. Portable
mills cutting to specified orders e.g. 25, 38 & 50mm x
100mm and wider, incur far too much wastage due to
cutting off of sapwood, sizing/squaring-off of log (side
wings) and including the bottom (bed) wing upon
completion of sawing, plus the loss of wood due to the
wide (circular), saw kerfs (5mm min.) both vertically
and horizontally upon every pass through the log.
So as to enable these private mill operators to obtain
greater value for their sawn product, and to stop unnecessary wastage and loss of revenue, an education programme needs to be implemented to address the
current problems where a better quality sawn product
could be produced by following some simple, basic
steps, in value-adding. This information may be had
through the organisation and running of technical
workshops and/or in the field with the mill operators.
If these ‘basic’ (field) problems are addressed to
achieve a better quality sawn product, this will then be
the first step in ‘value-adding’ before proceeding to
the next stage of preliminary air-drying and thence
possible consideration of kiln-drying. It is not believed
that the Solomons Timber Industry should be looking
at ‘manufacturing’ of wood products, at this stage of
industry development, for the export market.
A review of value adding options
A centralised (value-adding) processing plant, centrally
located near major port facilities e.g. Honiara and
Noro, is worthy of serious consideration. The envisaged processing plant would be able to buy in large
slabs and or flitches, with greater returns re. sawn recovery to the millers, including sapwood, for actual
downstream processing including re-sawing of
slabs/flitches into the specified/standard sizes of 25, 38
& 50 x 100mm and wider. The sawn material can then
be preliminary air-dried, prior to kiln-drying, and undergo pressure treatment, where sapwood is present, so
as to ensure durability of sawn product and to comply
to international standards.
1. Tree selection
Therefore, the consideration of value-adding options,
in this report, is made by taking into account the current ‘nature’ of the milling industry in the Solomon
Islands. It is small and fragmented comprising of a
large number of privately owned, mobile/portable
sawmills. A large number of these mobile mill owners,
and operators, are quite ignorant of what the export
market seeks and demands in the way of grade and
quality as well as their perceived price expectations.
2. Log and sawn timber protection
The first step in value adding is at the stump, that is the
conversion of the merchantable bole into sawn boards
or squares or flitches or slabs. Tree selection is very
important as the ‘form’ of the merchantable bole will
dictate the sawn recovery rate. Ideally, the merchantable bole should be 60cm (min.) in diameter (dbh).
Crooked, twisted, spiralling of grain (e.g. Calophyllum)
and leaning stems should be avoided as trees with these
types of irregularities can result in loss of sawn production and incur further losses due to degrade upon seasoning.
The implementation of a prophylactic, spraying regime, needs to be considered where certain (most) timber species are susceptible to attack from either
pinhole borer (Ambrosia beetles) and/or blue (fungal)
stain. Failure to implement prophylactic measures can
lead to ‘down-grading’ of sawn product and loss of
revenue. Timbers such as rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus) especially, are highly susceptible to pinhole
85
85
DRAFT
borer attack and sawn boards with this defect are not
acceptable to end-users as rosewood is used exclusively for its aesthetic appearance. Similarly, other
timbers such as kauri pine (Agathis macrophylla) and
pencil cedar (Palaquium spp.) are susceptible to blue
stain and therefore require ‘immediate’ prophylactic
treatment, with ‘anti-fungal’ solution, as soon as the
log has been felled, and immediately upon the cutting
of boards.
3. Correct sawing profile — quarter-cut
The best cutting practice that should be encouraged and
adopted, is that all sawn material should be ‘quartercut’. After the first one or two cuts (horizontal) are
taken across the top (width) of the log to create a flat
(level) working surface, all subsequent cuts should be
vertical to the horizontal (plane) face. The major reason
for producing ‘quarter-cut’ (sawn) material is for better
quality drying in alleviating such drying defects as cup
and twist which can be a common drying defect on
back-sawn (horizontal) boards.
4. Correct sawn (sizing) and saw
allowances
All sawn material needs to be cut to the ‘correct’ size
as specified by the customer. Generally, an allowance
of +5mm on thickness, 5–10% on width of boards
(10% over 150 mm wide) and +50mm allowance on
lengths of all sawn material. Logs should be cross-cut
(docked) to the ‘standard’ lengths required plus 50mm
allowance. e.g 2.4 m standard length plus 50 mm allowance (2.450 m).
5. Cutting sizes for export
The cutting and export of large-sized flitches is only
acceptable for a limited number of timber species designated for a specific end use e.g rosewood
(300x200mm) for custom slicing (see Table 1). Other
than that, large slabs are not suitable for the Australian
and New Zealand markets as the Importers (Wholesalers) will have to pay a lot less (FOB price) due to the
expense of them having to then ‘sub-contract’ the large
slabs out for ‘re-sawing’, plus wastage/loss factor incurred of the actual invoiced amount (FOB value &
volume) as against the ‘actual’ (recovered) volume.
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86
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Table 1. Price information
Key species
Trade name
Timber sizes
(r/s)
Grade
Condition
*fob price Comments
(AUD/m3)
Agathis macrophylla
kauri pine
25,38 & 50 mm x100 mm & wider
Possibly also 50x50, 100x100, 150x150 & 200x200 mm
Select
Air dry
Calophyllum spp.
calophyllum
28, 38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & wider
Select
Air dry
Campnosperma brevipetiolatum
campnosperma
Dillenia spp., incl.
D.alata
dillenia
(simpoh)
Gmelina moluccana
white beech (canoe 25,38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & wider
wood)
Intsia bijuga
kwila
25x75 mm & 100 mm; 25, 38 & 50 mm x 150 & wider. 75 mm Select
x 150 mm, 175 & 200 mm; 50x 50, 100x100, 125x125, 150x
150, 200x200 mm
Green
800–1200 In strong demand and increasing. Prices also on
upward trend.
Palaquium spp.
pencil cedar
25, 38 & 50 mm x 150 mm & wider
Air dry
550–650 Susceptible to blue stain
Paraserianthes falcataria
white albizia
Pometia pinnata
akwa
(taun)
25, 38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & wider. Also, 100x100 mm
Select
Air dry
Pterocarpus indicus
rosewood
25, 38 & 50 mm x 100 mm & wider. Also for veneer flitches
e.g 150-200x200 mm
Select
GreenShipping dry
Terminalia brassii
brown terminalia
600–900 Susceptible to blue stain.
500
Drying problems. Needs to be quarter-cut and
well seasoned prior to shipment.
Not marketed or established into markets except
in round-log form.
Selected logs (with black, pencil stripe) may be a possibility
for veneer flitches e.g. 150-200x200 mm
Select
Green
Select
GreenShipping dry
Select
Very difficult to season. Needs more research &
marketing. Not established or accepted in current market.
700–800 (see Item 7-Market Intelligence)
Not marketed or sold into current markets.
500-600
Susceptible to pinhole borer and brittle heart
(doze) in log.
750–950 Highly susceptible to pinhole borer (Ambrosia
beetle).
Little or no aesthetic appeal. Difficulty in dry-
87
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Key species
Trade name
Timber sizes
(r/s)
Grade
Condition
*fob price Comments
(AUD/m3)
ing. Better suited in log form for rotary veneer.
Vitex cofassus
Footnote:
*Denotes:
vitex
25x75 mm & wider. 75x150 mm & wider.
38&50 mmx150 mm & wider. 100x100, 150x150 &
200x200 mm
Select
GreenShipping dry
600–800 Would benefit greatly from further marketing
and promotion. Takes a long time to dry.
Re. FOB price/m3 – Price information sourced and supplied by Asia Pacific Timber Consultants T/A Grokelo Pty Ltd.
Prices based on the current, average FOB price for timbers being imported into Australia and New Zealand from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea as at 31.12.08.
88
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DRAFT
As well, Quarantine regulations in both Australia and
New Zealand, stipulate that all imported sawn material
can only have one dimension at a ‘maximum’ (thickness) of only 200 mm. This is so as to allow for penetration of the methyl-bromide gas used in the
fumigation process of all wood material, prior to export.
It is conceded that mobile mill operators prefer to cut
certain sizes (and lengths) for ease of handling e.g. 50
x 100 mm and wider, in lengths of 1.8 m up to 4.2 m.
However, not all of these sizes are as required by Importers (see Table 1). If the timber industry in the
Solomon Islands is to progress, it must address its current marketing problems and supply to customer requirements.
The foregoing five steps are the ‘basic’ considerations
toward ‘value-adding’ and/or in realising a better price
for producers and exporters. The following (on-shore)
‘value-adding’ options are given as follows:
Air drying and kiln drying
It is very important that all sawn material is treated and
handled with care, especially at the point of the sawn
production and so as to avoid ‘distortion’ that may occur during the ‘initial’ drying period. To alleviate any
possible degrade of sawn boards, during this initial
drying period, drying stacks should be made up with
‘spacers’ (20 mm thick) in between each row of boards
(to allow for air circulation). These timber drying
stacks should be placed onto wooden bearers or bed
logs, up off the ground and aligned in a straight line (to
keep boards straight). It is also preferable that the tops
of the drying stacks are kept covered and protected
from the sun and rain. A simple ‘leaf hut’ can be built
with poles and a roof of thatched palm fronds to protect
the sawn timber from the sun and rain during this initial drying period.
All timber brought into say, Honiara or Noro, would
firstly need to be graded and properly sorted, by species, into their respective thickness. Drying packs
would then need to be made up with 20 mm ‘stickers’
or ‘spacers’ between each row of boards and spaced at
say 450–600 mm along the length of ‘each’ row of
boards so as to allow for proper air-flow.
Upon completion of making-up of individual packs,
the packs then need to be strapped (metal strapping)
and the ends of boards coated with a wax emulsion
type end-sealant or approved lumber-paint. Each pack
is then taken to the designated air-drying area and
placed on bearers (up off-the-ground) to undergo a
preliminary drying period prior to going into the kiln
for final drying. Preliminary air-drying allows for the
respective timbers to ‘equilibrate’ to an even moisture
content so that all of the sawn members will reach on
equal (average), moisture content, and so ensure an
‘even’ drying period when placed in the kiln. Prelimi-
nary air-drying will vary according to the timber species and the respective thickness e.g. from 30 to 60
days for 25 mm material and from 3 to 6 months for 50
mm (max. drying thickness) material.
It is important to note that when kiln-drying, only
one (1) timber species in any one (1) thickness, can be
kiln-dried at a time. There are also various and ‘different’ kiln-drying schedules for each species and each
thickness. Some basic kiln-drying schedules have been
developed for most of the major ‘Key’ timber species.
These schedules have been developed and tested by
various research organisations and private industry
including the CSIRO of Australia. Some of these drying schedules have been modified (for 25 mm thick
timber) to suit Solomon Island timbers and can be
found in the various references including ‘Solomon
Islands Timber’ (Peter J. Eddowes, Asia Pacific Timber Consultants) published by AusAID (Australian
Government) 2005.
Cost of a conventional drying kiln
The choice of type of drying kiln is extremely important. This report does not allow for ‘in-depth’ discussion on this subject as it is a lengthy and complex
matter. However, the recommendation would be for a
‘custom-made’ drying kiln with a drying capacity of
20m3 of sawn material in any one charge. The heat
source to be via hot flue gas generated from a handfired, waste-wood, burning furnace. Kiln slab (concrete) and shed, insulated with plywood and waterproofed fibre cement lining, can be constructed from
local materials (on-site) as per custom-made (kiln) design. Ancillary equipment including fans (stainless
steel), heating pipes, steam valves etc., plus computerised (operating) equipment re. settings (wet & dry bulb
etc.) would be made up, supplied and then installed by
the manufacturer e.g., ex. Brisbane kiln manufacturer.
The conservative estimate of the cost of this type of
(high quality) custom-made kiln, up and running,
would be in the vicinity of AUD100,000.
Kiln-drying charges and costs
Once the sawn materials have been preliminary airdried (30-35% m.c), the time taken (on average) for
each charge (20m³) including all thicknesses, should be
at least one (1) full charge per week i.e 4 container
loads (min.) per month. If the drying yard is structured
to fully utilise waste wood from re-sawing, docking
etc., the running costs of the kiln are ‘minimal’ allowing for six (6) casual labourers to keep the hand-fired,
waste-wood boiler operative for 24 hours a day. It is
envisaged that the drying/holding/sorting yard will be
big enough to stock sufficient sawn timber to keep up
throughput to the drying kiln including 25,38 & 50 mm
material of sawn e.g rosewood. Providing the sawn
material has been well stacked and preliminary airdried to 30-35%, the yard should achieve the objective
of completing one (1) full charge every 6–7 days in-
89
DRAFT
cluding loading and un-loading of the kiln. As the
waste-wood furnace will be operating continuously for
24 hours a day , the yard will need to employ 6 casual
labourers (on 3x8 hour shifts) to ensure the furnace is
kept ‘firing’ with waste-wood. These same (6) labourers, would also be responsible for general yard duties
including the making-up of drying (stickered) stacks
for air-drying, and subsequent kiln-drying. The yard
would also require a general (yard) manager as kiln
operator and a machinery operator for the fork-lift or
rubber-tyred skidder.
Charge for kiln-dried material (export)
A charge of A$150-200/m³ could be easily applied and
would be readily acceptable by potential importers.
This gives a readily ‘saleable’ product and eliminates
the cost of importers having to send their (imported)
materials for sub-contract drying upon importation, and
at greater expense e.g., transporting to and from a ‘subcontract’ dryer, plus cost of drying.
Outline of costs
Assuming that the kiln is operative for 24 hours, seven
days a week, and that a volume of 20m3 per charge is
dried at a going rate of say A$150/m³ (conservative),
this would give a gross return of A$12,000.00 p.m or
maximum of say $144,000.00 p.a (approx.). The average cost in e.g Australia for the kiln-drying of ‘predried’ hardwoods is around $140-180/m3 including
preparation in stickering of packs and thence destickering and bundling upon kiln-drying. On top of
this is the cost (to the Importer) of transportation to and
from the yard of the sub-contract drying facility, which
can be around $50/m³ each way i.e $100/m3 incurred
in transport costs alone.
Other equipment
The yard would require a rubber-tyred skidder (preferably) with forks. A good quality, second-hand (reconditioned unit) can be obtained for around
A$50,000.00. To complement the ‘materials’ yard and
drying kiln, it is suggested that a Band re-saw and
Docking saw be purchased together with a
planer/thicknesser. The cost of these other items for
good quality (re-conditioned) machinery, would be
around A$75,000.00 (max.) giving a total, all-up cost
of say A$225,000-250,000.00.
Pressure treatment plant
Consideration should also be given to the installation
of a pressure treatment plant. This would allow for
even greater utilisation of sawn materials incl., round
poles or plantation thinnings (sap on) and ensure a
greater durability of hardwoods for local building and
construction purposes as well the export market. There
are (chemical) companies who would be willing to
provide a back-up service and in the acquisition and
installation of a pressure treatment plant using ACQ
(Naturewood) wood preservatives. Some second-hand
(re-conditioned) plants are available at various costs
e.g., (A$50-100,000.) installed.
Rotary veneer — production plant
There exists an ever-growing demand for rotary (hardwood) veneer for both face, backs and core stock due
to decreasing supplies from S.E. Asia. We (Asia Pacific Timber Consultants) have been approached by
companies seeking an opportunity for installing a rotary-veneer, peeler (production line) alongside an existing log production concession with suitable species and
of course a guarantee of tenure. Such a business opportunity offers good prospects as say a Joint Venture
with private enterprise, local land-owners and/or Government. One such resource that would be worthy of
consideration is Kolombangara and its plantation species incl., that of Eucalyptus deglupta. Solomon Islands
could look at ‘outside’ investment by selected rotary
veneer operations in Australia including the investment
by the Malaysian company Ta Ann in Tasmania, as this
may offer an example of what is involved, including
the terms and conditions sought by the Investor, and
the guarantee of secure tenure required to attract such
investment.
Possibilities may also exist for ‘outside’ investment by
a Company in custom ‘slicing’. However, ‘sliced’ veneer is a more ‘selective’ field of manufacture and
market dictates ‘specialty’ woods with specific ‘aesthetic’ appeal and in being able to follow international
market trends and demands. One timber species that
currently fits into the sliced/decorative veneer market is
rosewood.
Value-adding options for specific species
1)
Kwila (Intsia bijuga)
The only value-adding option that needs to be considered for kwila is kiln-drying and bundling into respective sizes (thickness) prior to export. These
packs/bundles can then be distributed to end-users immediately upon receipt of container by importer/wholesaler. Important to ensure that ends of all
boards have been heavily coated with end-sealant e.g
wax emulsion (to alleviate splitting and face checking).
Wholesalers would be only too happy to pay upwards
of A$250/m3 extra for well presented, graded, kilndried material in (sized) packs. Additional valueadding re. moulding and for manufacture of items such
as T&G flooring is not considered feasible. Production
of high quality flooring materials requires strict moisture content controls and high capital investment to
purchase and install quality moulding machinery and
end-matching equipment. The majority of Australian
and New Zealand manufacturers prefer to manufacture
and supply their own moulded products as there can be
severe repercussions from the ultimate consumer, if
90
DRAFT
items such as T&G flooring do not meet the required
standard, quality of product and specified moisture
content.
2)
Plantation teak (Tectona grandis)
Through past experience, our personal belief is that
plantation-grown teak is better off to be exported in
round-log form. The only other value-adding option
worth consideration for material ex. Solomons, would
be to cut the logs into squares e.g 50x50, 75x75,
100x100 mm and possibly 150x150 mm incl.,
core/heart. The major importing and manufacturing
countries of teak, including India, which accounts for
approximately 70% of the teak market, would be
happy to accept well-graded squares as this would all
but eliminate the sapwood (non-usable) content and
allow for additional volume to be placed into containers thus reducing the freight cost per volume (cubic
metre) of wood.
The main problem with the plantation-grown teak is
the inability to produce ‘clear-faced’ boards longer
than 100 cm, due to occurrence of knots. The wide
sapwood band (up to 38 mm) also reduces sawn recovery rates. The value of teak (ex. Solomons) lies mainly
in its round form so as to allow for importing (specialist) manufacturers to maximise sawn recovery and
greater utilisation of the round timber. The Solomon
Islands is not in a position nor able to produce (sawn)
material to the ‘exacting’ standards as required by
manufacturers and/or wholesalers for this particular
species.
Also, from past experience ‘other’ plantation-grown
species have little aesthetic appeal in Australia and
New Zealand in a value-added (e.g. sawn) timber market. This is due to a variety of reasons including, grain
irregularities, colour variance, internal fungal stain etc.
As well, their strength and durability properties do not
lend themselves for higher structural grade use e.g.
F17. However, this is not to say that they will not be in
demand in twenty years time.
Footnote: Drying, pressure treatment plants, rotary
& sliced veneer manufacturers
Asia Pacific Timber Consultants T/A Grokelo Pty Ltd,
are aligned to highly reputable , high quality manufacturers specialising in rotary and sliced veneer, custombuilt drying kilns and chemical companies that specialise in the services of supply of chemicals and supply
and installation of treatment plants incl., pressure cylinders, in accordance with International Standards and
best environmental practices.
Market intelligence and trend for
Solomon Island timbers
Introduction
Summary-The major markets currently available for
Solomon Island Timbers are in Australia and New Zealand. Both countries are familiar with the timber species available especially the ‘commodity-type’ species
such as kwila (Intsia bijuga) and rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus). However, the latter (rosewood) is not
used in any ‘large’ volumes in New Zealand. c.f Australia. Other timber species that have established niche
markets in both countries include akwa (taun), pencil
cedar, vitex and white beech.
The Australian and New Zealand markets mainly have
demand for structural grade timbers (F17 & F27) as
well as general joinery purposes incl., window and
door frames, window sills, wooden doors, shop-fitting
items and general building construction, where durability is the main criterion eg. decking, screening, posts
and flooring. Furniture items are also manufactured but
mainly ‘custom-made’ items as it is not possible to
compete on any large scale (furniture) manufacturing
due to (cheap) imports from China. Outdoor garden
furniture ex. kwila is popular. However, the Australian
and New Zealand manufacturing industry is not large
and is somewhat specialised.
Other importing countries include Noumea and Tahiti
but their imported species are mainly confined to that
of kwila and vitex (durable), mainly for exterior joinery and building purposes as aligned to the tourist industry e.g heavy decking and posts, for accommodation
dwellings.
Possibilities also exist for other and more lucrative
type, specialised international markets, such as Japan.
The Japanese market is somewhat ‘specialised’ as its
imported (sawn) materials are manufactured mainly for
local consumption and as such, their standard sizes
differ to those standard (sawn) sizes as exported to
Australia and New Zealand. There does however, exist
some very lucrative market opportunities providing
their (Japan) rigid specification and quality measures
can be met. Timber species such as kauri pine, pencil
cedar, white albizia, rosewood and vitex have good
market potential as well as plantation teak. However,
all of these timber species would need to be subject to
the most stringent quality controls and on-shore grading and kiln-drying prior to export. The Japanese are
very ‘quality’ conscious but will pay excellent prices
for the right product.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are made based on the
foregoing report as well as endeavouring to portray a vision for the future, whereby Solomon Island timbers
can be better utilised, marketed, promoted and accepted
91
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into international markets. One of the main criteria is to
work toward getting Solomon Island timbers incorporated and listed into the relevant Building Standards
and Codes of Practice in both New Zealand and Australia. The majority of Solomon Island timbers are not
included in the respective building codes of either New
Zealand or Australia. In summary, this means that the
relevant Building and Works Authorities only consider and
approve those timbers that are listed in the building/specifying codes.
So as to get Solomon Island timbers approved and incorporated into the relevant building codes, thus ensuring their acceptance and thereby their fuller utilisation,
it is suggested that a proposal be drawn up for submission (for funding) along the following type of T.O.R to
include:
1) Research and appraisal of existing published technical data on tests undertaken on Solomon Island
timbers to determine their physical and mechanical
properties.
AQIS/Quarantine/Customs regulations in both
Australia and New Zealand.
Provision within the TOR would also be
required for the following:
o
o
o
o
2) Prepare and publish a standard Nomenclature of
trade and botanical names for Solomon Island
timbers and timber species.
o
3) The incorporation of Solomon Island timbers into
the relevant Building Codes and respective Standards of Government and Building Authorities to
meet the criteria of:
o
Lyctine susceptibility
Treatments HI – H5 levels
Durability (natural)
Stress grades
Engineering and design
Light framing code
Exterior joinery incl., window frames re. fire (retardant) proofing
o Permeability of hardwoods to pressure treatment
Note: This will entail preparation of submissions and
meetings with the relevant institutions including government departments, building authorities (local
and state), timber importer’s associations etc., in
both Australia and New Zealand.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
The possible ‘testing’ of timber species to verify/confirm their strength properties so as to ensure
their compliance to international building codes
(stress ratings) for structural purposes (F8 toF27).
This work generally undertaken by Forest State Departments or CSIRO Australia.
Testing of authentic wood specimens of those timbers considered to be durable but to confirm their durability rating.
Organisation and conducting of Timber Information
Seminars. This would be done via and under the auspices of the respective Timber Importer’s Associations (N.Z and Australia) as promotion and
marketing work
Workshops - especially in the Solomon Islands to
outline and discuss all of foregoing regarding requirements and compliance
Implementation of a quality control regime incl.,
prophylactic treatments to alleviate pinholeborer
(Ambrosia beetle) attack, blue stain fungi, grading,
packaging & bundling
Formulation of kiln-drying schedules, for adoption,
for the respective ‘key’ timber species.
Period
•
Minimum 120 days depending on requirements
and tasks to be undertaken
•
Additional time required to arrange and organise
seminars, workshops and meetings with relevant
departments and subsequent travel.
•
Additional time required to develop standards to
finality e.g. a nomenclature and timber treatment
standard.
•
Additional time required to collate existing data
and formulate suitable kiln-drying schedules for
the key timber species.
References
4)
Discussion with relevant institutions and authorities
re codes of practice and compliance in respect of:
4.1 Type of timber treatments.
4.2 Chemicals/Applications (as acceptable).
4.3 Hazard levels re. HI–H5.
Eddowes. Peter, J (in ed.). Wood in Papuasia — TheTimbers,
their Properties and Uses. Gold Coast, Queensland,
Australia.
Eddowes. Peter, J (2005). Solomon Islands Timber. Solomon
Islands Forestry Management Project (SIFMP II).
AusAID, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
5)
Development and publication of a Solomon Islands Standard on timber treatments/application
etc. regarding domestic and export markets.
Eddowes. Peter, J (2005) Sawing and Treatment of Wood in
the Solomon Islands -Manual 1. Solomon Islands
Forestry Management Project (SIFMP II) AusAID,
Canberra, ACT, Australia.
6)
Prepare and publish (for local operations) a working manual in simplified English to explain and
outline the requirements for ‘compliance’ with
Eddowes, Peter, J (1995-2005). The Forests and Timbers of
Papua New Guinea (unpublished data).
92
DRAFT
Eddowes. Peter, J (1998). Evaluation of the conservation
status and utilisation of threatened tree species of
Papua New Guinea and, including those species of
Solomon Islands and Irian Jaya as appropriate. In:
The World List of Threatened Trees; Sara Oldfield,
Charlotte Lusty & Amy MacKinven. World Conservation Press. IUCN Publications Services Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
port prepared for the Economic Social Commission
Asia & Pacific (ESCAP). Bangkok, Thailand.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1980). ‘Lesser Known Timber Species’ of
SEALPA Countries -A Review and Summary. Final
publication of the long term study commissioned by
the South East Asia Lumber Producer’s Association
(SEALPA). Jakarta, Indonesia.
Eddowes Peter, J (1977). The Utilisation of Papua New
Guinea Timbers (Revised Edition) Office of Forests,
Hohola, Papua New Guinea.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1992). Timber Utilisation in the Papua
New Guinea Building Industry. Paper prepared for
and presented to Papua New Guinea Institute of Architects Seminar; Building Towards 2000. ‘Timber
Utilisation and Wood Preservation’. Port Moresby Papua New Guinea.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1977). Commercial Timbers of Papua
New Guinea - Their Properties andUses. Office of
Forests, Hohola, Papua New Guinea.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1990). Backwards to the Future - Is Processing in Papua New Guinea a Viable Proposition?
In: Millett, John (Ed.) Log Export to Processing Policies Revisited the
Foreman. D.B (1971). Checklist of the Vascular Plants of
Bougainville, with descriptions of some common forest trees. Bot. Bull, Division of Botany., Dept. of
Forests, Lae, Papua New Guinea.
Risk Evaluation. Institute of National Affairs, Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea.
Forestry Division, Ministry of Natural Resources (1979).
Solomon Islands Timbers, timber booklet No. 1 (major species) and timber booklet No.2 (minor species).
Government Printing Office, Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Eddowes. Peter, J & Tong Kok Hung (1990). Asia Pacific as
Markets for Tropical Hardwoods Paper prepared for
and presented at the Malaysia Timber Industry Board
(MTIB),
Asia Pacific Timber Conference. Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1989). Development of a Processing Sector in the Papua New Guinea Forest Sector. Ref: SCS
ADB/89-116. Report prepared for the Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1988). Value Adding: A Case Study ‘Log Exports Versus Processing’.
Gunn. B., Agiwa. A., Bosimbi, D., Brammall. B., Jarua. L&
Uwamariya. A. (2004). Seed Handling and Propagation of Papua New Guinea’s Tree Species. CSIRO
Forestry and Forest Products, Canberra. Australian
Centre for International Agricultural Research.
Keating. W.G., & Bolza, E (1982). Volume 1 Characteristics,
Properties and Uses of Timbers.
Paper prepared for and presented to the Institute of National
Affairs (INA) Forestry Seminar. Port Moresby, Papua
New Guinea.
South-east Asia, Northern Australia and the Pacific. Division
of Chemical Technology (formerly Division of Building Research). Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Inkata Press.
Melbourne, Sydney and London.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1985). The Forest Resources of Papua
New Guinea.
McCombe. B.M (1968). Trials of British Solomon Island
Species for Plywood Manufacture.
Paper prepared for and presented to The Australian Timber
Industry Stabilisation - AUSTIS Conference. Port
Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Lab., Report No.1, Division of Forest Products, CSIRO,
Melbourne, Australia.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1984). Utilisation of Small Dimension
Logs and Under-Utilised Timber Species - Review
Paper (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore).
FAO: RAS/78/010. Working Paper No: 28. Forest Industries
Development Group-Asia Pacific Region. Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Eddowes. Peter, J (1981). The Utilisation of ‘Lesser Known
Species’ of Tropical Timber in South East Asia and
South West Pacific Region. Study undertaken and re-
Pleydell. G.J (1970). Timbers of the British Solomon Islands.
Lever Pacific Timbers Limited. BSIP Protectorate.
United Africa Co. (Timber) Limited, London.
Sosef. M.S.M., Hong. H.T., & Prawirohatmodjo. S (Editors) 1998. PROSEA- Plant Resources of South East Asia
5. (3) Timber trees: Lesser-known timbers. Backhuys
Publishers, London 1998.
Whitmore. T.C (1966). Guide to the Forests of the British
Solomon Islands. British Solomon Islands Protectorate Government. Oxford University Press. U.K.
93
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Annex 5
Documentation for export of logs from the Solomon Islands
(Ministry of Forestry)
94
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95
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96
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97
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98
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99
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100
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Annex 6
Documentation for export of sawn timber from the Solomon Islands
(Ministry of Forestry)
101
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102
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103

Development Of Market Information System For Solomon Island

Transcription

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