PART IV - FORESTRY IN REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROUPS

Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)

MEMBERS

Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago

DESCRIPTION OF THE FOREST SECTOR

The CARICOM countries account for only 1 percent of the world's forest area, most of which is located in Guyana and Suriname. Belize and Dominica also have a high percentage of their land area in forest. With the exception of Dominica, CARICOM's small island States have moderate to low forest cover. CARICOM's share of world production and trade in forest products is minor. These countries depend heavily on imports to meet their needs for paper, sawnwood and wood-based panels. Guyana is the most active of the countries in terms of forest industries.

Forest resources

Land area (thousand ha)	40 504
Total forest area, 1995 (thousand ha)	35 843
Percent of land in forest (%)	88.5
Forest area per caput (ha)	5.8
Annual change in forest area, 1990-1995 (thousand ha)	- 51
Percent annual change, 1990-1995 (%)	- 0.1

Production of wood-based products (1996)

Product	Quantity	% of world total
Fuelwood and charcoal	500^a	n.s.
Industrial roundwood	832^a	n.s.
Sawnwood	183^a	n.s.
Wood panels	107^a	n.s.
Pulp for paper	n.s.^b	n.s.
Paper and paperboard	n.s.^b	n.s.

International forest products trade - quantity and value (1996)

Product		Export value			Import value
	Export quantity	thousand US$	% of world total	Import quantity	thousand US$	% of world total
Fuelwood and charcoal	1^a	17	n.s.	2^a	94	n.s.
Industrial roundwood	52^a	8 388	n.s.	47^a	8 217	n.s.
Sawnwood	27^a	10 209	n.s.	333^a	77 642	n.s.
Wood panels	100^a	37 956	n.s.	89^a	34 981	n.s.
Pulp for paper	0^b	0	n.s.	4^b	3 408	n.s.
Paper and paperboard	1^b	1 006	n.s.	123^b	101 001	n.s.

^aThousand m³.
^bThousand tonnes.