The Management of Owusat Company Limited, a timber firm at Sekyere, in the East Akyim District, has threaten to lay off 200 workers for lack of market for its products.

Mr Owusu Asante, Managing Director of the company told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Sekyere, that timber firms, which were asked to mill lumber to feed the local market were finding it difficult to compete with the influx of the illegal chain sawn lumber on the market.

He said the situation has weakened the financial base of most of these firms making it difficult for them to meet their overhead expenditure. He appealed to the government to step up measures to clamp down on the activities of the chain saw operators to save the nation’s scarce forest from being depleted.

Mr Asante said because chain-sawn lumber did not carry any tax element, they were sold cheaper than the milled ones.

He said a large number of lumber milled for the local market since last year, were lying in the premises of the company.

Meanwhile the company as part of effort to increase its operational capacity was spending more than 300 million cedis to grow 400 hectares of teak at Kyebi.

The company has so far nursed 3,000 teak seedlings ready for transplanting.