The Philippines may import more American forestry products this year due to rising demand from residential, commercial and public construction projects amid declining production of local lumber and wood products.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a report said $21.6 million worth of forestry products are expected to come into the Philippines this year, a 50-percent increase from last year’s $14.4 million.
The report dated Oct. 29, 2021 also said the Philippines has a total land area of 30 million hectares but forest cover of both natural and man-made forests is only around 23 percent, lower than the global average of 30 percent.
It is also significantly lower than Vietnam’s 47 percent, Indonesia’s 49 percent and Malaysia’s 58 percent.
The USDA cited marginal results from government-led reforestation projects as well as poverty, land-use conversion, forest fires, landlessness, insufficient funds, lack of political will, widespread illegal logging and the continued implementation of Executive Order 23 that prohibite harvesting of timber in natural forest since 2011, force the Philippines to import majority of its wood needs.
The report added the local supply of wood and wood-based products could not meet the 6 million cubic meters (cu. m.) annual average consumption in the Philippines.
About 75 percent of the country’s requirement is imported, majority being plywood, veneered panels and sheets, laminated wood as well as coniferous or non-coniferous wood sawn or chipped lengthwise.
Suppliers of imported wood to the Philippines include Asian countries, Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.
Based on data from the Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippines produced in 2020 a total of 822,048.41 cu. m. of logs; 284,164.02 cu. m. of lumber; 168,086.63 cu. m. of veneer; and 120,414.99 cu.m of plywood for a total of 1.39 million cu. m. of wood products.
As of first half this year, the country produced 421,428.29 cu. m. of logs; 71,521.64 cu. m. of lumber; 117,151.31 cu. m. of veneer; and 49,369.18 cu. m. of plywood for a total of 659,470.42 cu. m. of wood products. – Jed Macapagal
