Feb 17, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Log exports for the year are off to a slow start owing to the low volumes of harvest in the month of December and the higher demand for Guyana’s sawnwood, ITTO reported. Only 43 cubic metres of logs were exported in the second fortnight of 2009, mainly consisting of standard sawmill quality purpleheart heading to destinations in India. Nevertheless, log prices jumped by 52% compared to January 2008 average prices. Log exports in January 2008 were 8,929 cubic metres, which highlights the significant drop in this year’s log exports compared with the corresponding period last year. The export markets targeted show a similar trend to that which prevailed in 2008, when the total volume of logs exported was mostly consumed in the Asian/Pacific region and accounting for the majority of volume and value totals. In this region, the two main destinations for Guyana’s logs in 2008 were China and India. China consumed 45% of all logs exported while India consumed 42%. For added value products, shingles showed strong results in 2009 with an 81% increase in value over January 2008. The overall price level has also jumped by 60%. Similarly, the export of other value-added products including doors has increased substantially over the January 2008 levels. The highest revenue earner for January 2009 was Dressed Lumber, accounting for 42% of total export value. Shingles were the second largest revenue earner for the month.