Forest Certification in Developing and Transitioning ... - UTas ePrints

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forest certification in developing and transitioning countries
econegociosforestales), and WWF Central America who also offers a webbased
platform (www.maderacertificada.com).
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Advance sale to buyers who provide credit and not necessarily to those
who pay the best price. The lack of working capital along with inadequate
administration of the community enterprises frequently forces the enterprise
to resort to advance payments with an inherent penalty in terms of
prices below the current market rate.
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Lack of entrepreneurial capacities of community groups. Some timber
buyers have complained about non-compliance with contractual arrangements.
In some cases, community groups have accepted advance payments
from several sources without delivering the volume stipulated.
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Poor product quality. In most cases, sawn wood enters the market without
being properly dried. As a result, most wood is warped, in particular
mahogany. Many buyers request pre-dimensioned timber, but many community
groups do not have the conditions to meet this specific demand.
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Low supply volumes. Despite the large area certified, harvested volumes are
strikingly low due to the inherent high diversity of trees in tropical forests of
which only few are currently marketable. In addition, most producers tend
to sell their timber individually, despite recent efforts to realize joint sales.
Many producers claim that there is no significant difference between the prices
paid for certified and uncertified wood. Others, however, have managed to receive
price premiums by complying with the factors described above (see Table 6). Sales
managers and intermediaries have pointed out that, in the case of certified mahogany,
a premium of US$0.05-0.10 per board feet, equivalent to less than 10 percent of the
sales price, may be obtained. Typically, however, prices for non-certified wood soon
catch up with the prices for certified wood. Price premiums are therefore difficult to
be maintained in an environment where competing buyers of non-certified wood
match prices in order not to lose access to raw material suppliers.
Table 6
Sales prices of sawn mahogany in certified and non-certified markets fetched by
eight management units in Petén, 2003 (US$/bft)
Management unit Certified Management unit Non-certified
High grade Low grade High grade Low grade
A 3.10 1.10 E 2.15 1.10
B 2.65 1.25 F 2.22 1.10
C 2.70 1.10 G 2.20 1.10
D 2.65 1.10 H 2.60 1.10
Mean price 2.77 1.14 2.29 1.10
Source: Unpublished data provided by Chemonics
Table 6 shows that sawn wood of certified mahogany fetched higher prices than
non-certified mahogany. In 2003, the industrial producers (not included in Table 6)
achieved prices of up to US$3.15/bft of high-grade mahogany. However, this price can
yale school of forestry & environmental studies