by Staff Reporter
Illegal land invasion, gold panning, veld fires and timber thefts have contributed to the dwindling of plantation hectarage over the past years, a development that is threatening the existence and viability of the timber industry, a contact within the Timber Industry Association of Zimbabwe (TIAZ) has said.
According to the contact, forestry plantations which were around 120 000 hectares in 2000 have since dwindled to around 65 000 hectares as of 2020.
Under the Forest Act, anyone who cuts, damages, destroys, collects, takes or removes trees or timber without a license faces a fine or two years in prison.
According to the contact, the continued and unchecked deforestation will see Zimbabwe importing timber by 2030.
The contact further explained that a plantation takes between 20 and 25 years to mature, and a phased approach is adopted to make sure every harvest is replenished with a corresponding renewal in terms of new plantations so that the cycle goes undisturbed. However, due to the above mentioned challenges, it is becoming difficult to maintain the cycle. Some companies are forced to harvest immature timber fearing theft issues.
Due to depressed timber production in the country, the timber industry according to the contact, is now facing serious competition from neighbouring South African imports, which are landing into the country much cheaper because of the economies of scale enjoyed by timber industry players in that country. An estimated two million hectares of plantations are said to be in South Africa justifying investment in advanced lumbering equipment and transportation facilities.
The contact highlighted that Zimbabwe's timber industry has got a lot of potential with players such as Manica Boards, Boarder Timbers, Wattle Company Limited and Allied Timbers attesting to a ready market in the region, both for rough sawn timber and value added products such as boards, treated poles, charcoal and doors. The contact revealed that the sector is currently operating at below 60 percent capacity mainly due to limited feed stock from plantations.
An employee from Wattle Company echoed the same challenges revealing that their company was now diversifying into Avocadoes and Macadamia to cushion it from the diminishing fortunes in the timber industry. The contact raised concern over limited investment in research and development by the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe (FCZ), despite timber companies contributing through the forestry levy. The contact said that little was being done by FCZ in combating invasions of plantations by a new regime of diseases and pests.
Meanwhile, the shortage of timber has negatively affected timber-dependent small businesses such as carpenters and wood-workers, some of whom make coffins and furniture.
"We can’t get timber the way we used to and this has negatively affected our business," said Mr Tedious Bvute, at his workshop in Glenview Home Industry where he makes wardrobes, beds, chairs and other wooden furniture.
