Ghana’s cumulative exports of wood products in 2017 totalled 339,227 cubic metres which earned the country a total revenue of almost Euro 190 million. Compared to 2016 there was an almost 15% decline in export volumes and a 16% drop in the value of exports, as ITTO reported.
In 2017 air-dried sawnwod accounted for 64% of export volumes followed by kiln-dried sawnwood (11%) and billets (9.5%). Another 10 products made up the balance. In terms of trends, in 2017 exports of billets (logs), boules and curl veneers increased while exports of other products, particularly sawnwood and plywood, declined.
Ghana’s overland plywood exports plummeted to just 15,549 cubic metres in 2017 from a peak of 30,071 cubic metres in 2016 and this resulted in the combined export earnings from plywood and sawnwood to drop by around 48%.
