Ghana’s cumulative wood products exports in 2014 totalled 356,036 cubic metres, earning the country a total revenue of Euro138.22 million. Compared to 2013 exports there was a 16% increase in the value of exports and a 31% increase in export earnings in 2014, ITTO reports.

Primary products comprising poles and billets accounted for 59,347 cubic metres or 17% of the total export volume.

Exports of secondary products such as sawn wood, boules, veneers, blockboard and plywood amounted to 285,086 cubic metres with tertiary products, such as mouldings, dowels, flooring and profile boards, accounting for the remaining volume.

In 2014 markets in Asia and the Far East accounted for almost half of Ghana’s wood product exports compared to 21% in 2013.

The increase in exports to the Asian/Far Eastern markets in 2014 is mainly the result of an expansion of trade in poles and billets (primarily plantation teak) imported by India, Bangladesh and China.