The Ghana Timber Millers Association (GTMO) has challenged a claim by the outgoing Deputy Minister of Lands and Forestry, Thomas Broni that the decline in the country’s export earnings from wood products in the last two years is due to under-invoicing and fraudulent declaration.

A statement signed by the GTMO’s Executive Secretary, E. E. K. Acquah Moses described the deputy Minister’s claim as ''unfounded, baseless and incorrect''.

It drew the Minister’s attention to the fact that ''all timber exports to the ECOWAS subregion are covered by the relevant documents … and vigorously inspected and monitored by the relevant inspection agencies … it is highly impossible to register any under-invoicing or under declaration with the Form A as the deputy Minister surprisingly alleged''.

The statement said the decline in timber export revenue is the direct result of government’s unrealistic policies, especially the imposition of the national Reconstructive Levy on the total export proceeds, instead of the profits of exporters and the undue delay in the allocation of timber concessions.

The statement said ''it is unfortunate that after impressing upon the government over the last two years that its policies, especially the imposition of the Reconstruction Levy on export proceeds will kill the timber industry, the Deputy Minister has failed to understand the negative impact of the policies on the sector''.