Mr Joshua Ansah, General-Secretary of the Timber and Wood Workers Union (TWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on woodworkers to build their capacities in processing the Rosewood.

He said it made more economic sense to learn to use the Rosewood locally than to export cheaply and later import the derivatives expensively.

Mr Ansah was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during a day’s union activities optimization forum in Ho for workers of the Forestry Commission in the Volta Region.

Rosewood is a lesser known timber type used locally for charcoal production but now in high demand in China especially, for the manufacture of gun butts, guitar boxes, machine parts and cutlass handles, among others.

Government banned its export as a result of its haphazard exploitation and export, sparking protestations from some exporters across the country.

Mr Ansah who said the ban was appropriate called on government to support wood processing companies to procure the appropriate machinery to tackle the hardwood.

“We must learn to add value to the Rosewood and not bundle them out cheaply”, he stated.