2. Current Status of National Forestry Statistics related to Wood-products

In case of the Forest Permit System the following information is collected: Firewood, in Tons; Charcoal, in Tons; Mopane Roots, in Tons; Ornamentals (including Curios), in Tons and no. of pieces, Poles, in Tons and no. of pieces; Timber, in m3 and Tons.

Other information collected includes number of timber logs produced, and volume of sawn timber.

The National Planning Commission Secretariat (Central Bureau of statistics), Customs and Excise collect import/export data on various wood products including paper and paper board, plywood, sawntimber, fibreboard, particle board etc. The main wood products categories recorded are: Chipwood, Fibre board, Household and Sanitary, Newsprint, Paper and Paperboard, Particle board, Plywood, Printed Matter, Pulp (Chemical, Mechanical, Semi Chemical), Roundwood, Sawnwood (Hard and Soft), Sleepers, Veneer sheets, Wafer board, Woodwool, and Wrapping and Packaging.

Direct measurement. For example, the number of logs cut in the field for concessions and from individual permit holders are recorded on forms.

Data recorded on forest permits, e.g. transport, harvest and export permits. The permits are issued by Directorate of Forestry officials

Measurement of sawn timber produced from sawmills.

Count of furniture produced.

Border checkpoints for Customs and Excise. Here various wood products imported and exported are recorded on customs forms.

Ad hoc wood consumption surveys.

Presently, there are no obvious routine mechanisms for data compilation, validation and dissemination.

The Directorate of Forestry disseminates information through its annual reports (Table 8).

The following are the main institutions involved in collection, analysis and dissemination of data related to wood-products:

Ministry of Environment and Tourism (Directorate of Forestry). Data on forest permit issues is collected and disseminated through the directorate’s annual reports.

Ministry of Trade and Industry (Import/Export Permits). They have a list of companies dealing in wood products trade in Namibia.

Ministry of Finance (Customs and Excise). They record import/export data.

National Planning Commission Secretariat (Central Bureau of Statistics). They have a database of import/export data obtained from Customs and Excise.

Although the contribution of the forestry sector to GDP has not yet been adequately assessed, wood products play a significant role in the Namibian economy. The Directorate of Forestry estimates the current total economic value of forest resources exploitation to be N$1058.2 million per annum. A breakdown of this estimate into various common uses of forest resources is given in Table 3.

Table 3: Estimated annual economic value of forest resources exploitation

Source: Namibia Forestry Strategic Plan 1996

The main wood-products produced, consumed and traded in Namibia are sawn timber, firewood, charcoal, mopane roots, wood for carvings (curios) and poles for fencing and construction.

Sawn timber: The forestry industry is not very strong in Namibia. One of the major constraints in the development of a viable forestry industry is the inadequate forest resources. Forest resources are mainly found in the north east of the country, in Kavango and Caprivi Regions. The most sought after and over exploited commercial species, Pterocarpus angolensis, does not regenerate very well.

Most of the timber produced from Namibian sawmills is mainly used for furniture production. Between 1993-95 about 4 410 m³ of sawntimber were produced.

Softwoods imports, mainly from South Africa, in 1996 were estimated at 25 000 m³ valued at N$ 25 million (Kleabo and Omwami 1997). However, it unknown whether this is round or sawnwood or both. The CBS data (Table 7a and 7b) show that between 1995-99 about 31100 m3 soft sawnwood were imported. During the same period over 4800 m3 sawn hardwood were imported.

Furniture/Joinery: There are several wood working shops involved in furniture making. The main local species used is Pterocarpus angolensis. Some of the timber is imported. Data on quantities and value (N$) of furniture/joinery products is not readily available.

Charcoal: Namibia’s charcoal industry is one of the well-organised in Africa. Most of the commercial charcoal is made from bush encroachment species such as Acacia mellifera. A process has started to certify the charcoal. It is not associated with deforestation, but to remove unwanted bush on beef production farms. In 1997/98 13 537 tons and 433 tons of charcoal were exported to South Africa and Europe respectively. The size of the domestic market for charcoal is unknown. An estimate, probably, on the high side, is that this market is about 1000 tons annually with a retail value of N$1.5 million.

The charcoal export in 1996 is estimated at 6 000 tons, to Europe and South Africa. The Directorate of Forestry permits system shows that over 61000 tons of charcoal was exported between 1997-99 (Table 8). Data from the CBS (Table 9b) shows that about 25700 tons were exported between 1997-99.

Firewood: Firewood is traded both in the formal and informal markets. However, data on the quantities and value of the firewood traded is not readily available. Table 4 shows the total firewood consumption in Namibia in 1996. About 670000 tons (or 924000 m3) worth N$104 million of firewood were consumed. Over 1300 m3 valued at N$2.7 million were imported between 1995-99 (Tables 7a and 7b).

Table 4: Total firewood consumption in Namibia 1996 (Source: Klaeboe and Omwami 1997)

It is estimated that the total firewood consumption in Namibia will be 1 071 500 tons in the year 2006.

Mopane roots: Mopane roots, harvested from Colophospermum mopane, are used as ornaments in fish aquaria and for decorative purposes. In 1997/98 four hundred and thirty six (436) tons of Mopane roots were exported to South Africa, 29 tons to United States and 152 tons to Europe.

It is estimated that about 900 tons of mopane roots are harvested annually. Table 5 shows the estimated quantity and value of mopane roots in 1996.

Table 5: Estimated quantity and value of 1996 exports

The Directorate of Forestry permit system indicates that 1500 tons of mopane roots were exported between 1997-99. This is approximately 500 tons annually. It must be borne in mind that the data capture for the permit system is still on going. Some of the data on the datasheets has not yet been entered into the computer.

Carvings (curios): In Kavango and Caprivi Regions, local organisations are involved in making curios for sale to tourists. Individuals obtain licences from the Directorate of forestry to cut trees or collect dead material for such activities. No data is readily available on the number or volume of trees used for curio production, neither the value (N$) and tonnes of curios produced and traded. It is estimated that the carvers use a total of 440 tons of wood annually (Klaeboe and Omwami 1997).

Poles for construction and fencing: Table 6 shows the amount of poles for construction and fencing mainly in northern Namibia.

Table 6: Standing volume of wood in homesteads 1996 (Klaeboe and Omwami 1997)

4.6 million cubic meters corresponds to about 3.3 million tons. It takes about 9.5 years to replace used poles. These figures are estimates of old and new wood currently in use in the homesteads. The annual consumption, which represents wood for new homes and replacements, is certainly much lower. It is estimated that by the year 2006 the consumption of poles, or poles in use in homesteads, will decrease to about 4 395 000 m³ or 3.15 million tons due to use of substitutes for poles.

Annual import/export figures of wood and wood products: Various private companies are engaged in the import/export trade of wood products. The Directorate of Forestry does not keep wood products import/export records. It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Finance (Customs & Excise) to keep such records. The Customs and Excise captures the data and sends it to the National Planning Commission Secretariat (Central Bureau of Statistics).

Tables 7a, 7b, 9a, and 9b and summarised from this data. The imported items were grouped into the following major wood products categories: Charcoal, Chipwood, Fibre board, Fuelwood, Household and Sanitary, Newsprint, Paper and Paperboard, Particle board, Plywood, Printed Matter, Pulp (Chemical, Mechanical, Semi Chemical), Roundwood, Sawdust, Sawnwood, Sawnwood (Hard and Soft), Sleepers, Veneer sheets, Wafer board, Woodwool, and Wrapping and Packaging.

Imports

Data on imports and exports were obtained from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). It is interesting to note that Namibia is an active importer of wood products. The available import data is for the years 1995 to 1999. For 1999, the data is for the period January to June only. Table 7a shows the value, CIF N$, of imports.

Wood products valued at N$1.9 billion (CIF) were imported between 1995-99. The major imports are paper and paperboard, printed matter, fibreboard, Chipwood, sawnwood and roundwood.

Roundwood and sawnwood are important for the construction industry, which cannot meet consumption from local resources.

Table 7a: Imports of wood products 1995-1999 value in CIF N$

The consumption trends of a few selected imported products (Table 8) used in the construction industry, such as fibreboard, plywood, and sawnwood, are briefly analysed below. The 1999 figures are for Jan-Jun only. The Projected 1999 figures mentioned in the following descriptions are projections based on the reported Jan-Jun 1999 data, which were multiplied by 2.05.

Fibreboard: starting with 1412 tons in 1995 the quantity increased by 123.6% to 3157 metric tons in 1996. From 1996 to 1997 the amount decreased by -55.7% to 1397 tons. From 1997 to 1998 the quantity decreased by -0.8% to 1386 tons. The projected 1999 figure is 1367 tons. There seems to be a declining fibreboard consumption trend.

Plywood: Consumption increased by 411.3% from 88 tons in 1995 to 450 tons in 1996. From 1996 to 1997 the amount increased by 127.3% from 450 tons to 1023 tons. In addition, from1997 to 1998 the quantity increased by 127.6% to 2329 tons. There seems to be an increasing consumption trend in plywood between 1995 and 1998. The projected 1999 figure is 600 tons.

Sawnwood: Sawnwood is used by the construction and furniture industry. Hard sawnwood decreased by -48.4percentage from 1232 m³ in1995 to 636 m³ in 1996. From 1996, it increased by 7% to 683 m³. From 1997, the amount increased by 182.8% to 1929 m³. The projected 1999 consumption is 701 m³. There seems to be an up-and-down trend in hard sawnwood consumption.

On the other hand Soft sawnwood increased by 17.3% from 3307 m³ in 1995 to 3880 m³ in 1996. From 1996, the amount increased by 5.8% to 4106 m³ in 1997. Moreover, from 1997 the amount increased by 70% to 6984 m³ in 1998. The projected 1999 consumption is 8725 m³. There is a steady increasing trend in the consumption of soft sawnwood.

Table 7b: Imports of wood products 1995 - 1999; Quantity, Tons & Cubic Metre (M³)

Note: Chipwood, Fuelwood, Roundwood, Sawnwood and Sleepers were originally recorded in kilograms. A conversion factor of 1 m³ of wood = 0.725 Tons was used to derive the cubic meters. m³

Exports

The Directorate of Forestry maintains records of export permits issued to exporters of wood products. A computerised Forest Permit System was established in December 1999 at the Directorate of Forestry Head Office to capture data from forest permits on wood products traded. This is a significant step towards the directorate’s efforts to improve forestry data collection and reporting. A similar step will need to be taken by other institutions involved in forestry data collection so that their data can be fed into the Directorate of Forestry Forest Permit data base. In this way, a much more realistic and reliable picture of trade in wood products in Namibia would emerge.

Table 8 shows wood products exports obtained from permit issues at the Directorate of Forestry. On the other hand Tables 9a and 9b show exports based on the data from Central Bureau of Statistics.

Table 8: Exports of wood products based on issues of permits at Directorate of Forestry

Between 1996-1999 61000 tons of charcoal, 48000 tons of firewood, and 1500 tons of (mopane) roots were exported. The reporting of the data follows the financial year of the Government of Namibia, from the 1st April to the 31st March of each year. This data only shows the data that has been collected by the permit system. Data entry is still on going.

Table 9a: Exports of wood products 1997 - 1999 Values, FOB N$,

(Data source: Planning Commission Secretariat)

Wood products worth N$314.3 million were exported between 1997-99. Namibia is exports a significant amount of charcoal. 25700 tons valued at N$23.6 million were exported between 1997-99. Most of the other wood products seem to be re-exports of imported wood products, that is goods in transit through Namibia to other countries.

Appendices 2 to 5 show wood products imports and exports by country, imported from, and exported to. The neighbouring Republic of South Africa is the major trading partner.

Table 9b: Exports of wood products 1997 - 1999 Quantity, Kg and m³,

(Data source: Planning Commission Secretariat)

Appendix 1 shows the companies engaged in wood products trade in Namibia.

The main wood industries in the forestry sector are Amalgamated Commercial holdings (AMCOM) and Development Brigade Corporation (DBC). AMCOM produces indigenous sawntimber for use in its furniture factory. DBC produces indigenous sawntimber for sale to other companies. Production and consumption figures for these companies were not readily accessible.

Table 10: The most important wood-industries presently active in the country

(Source: AMCOM, Forestry Office-Grootfontein)