Liberia
Overview of timber sector of Liberia
Production and processing
main harvested species
Common commercially harvested timber species include:
- Azobé (Lophira alata)
- Niangon (Heritiera utilis)
- Bossé (Guarea cedrata)
- Iroko (Milicia excelsa)
- Ayous (Triplochiton scleroxylon)
- Dabema (Piptadeniastrum africanum).
A total of 240 timber species have been identified, of which about 60 species have been exploited and exported (FAO 2015). The SGS/FDA LiberTrace system contains an official Species List of 95 species.
According to ITTO (Biennial review), the Liberian industry produced about 550’000m3 of industrial round wood in 2018. Yet, the majority of the wood production, including fire wood and wood for construction, is used in the domestic market and is largely unregistered.
Export
The civil war (1989–2003) destroyed the forest industry and rural infrastructure, and consequently round logs currently account for the bulk of the export volume. Round log exports in 2018: 187’000m3; sawnwood exports: 185m3 in 2018, 1’298m3 in 2019 (FDA/LVD). The export value of primary timber products accounted for around 52.5 million USDs in 2018. Most wood exports go to China, with the remainder mainly going to other Asian countries and Europe.
Logistics infrastructure
Timber is mostly exported via the main ports of the country: the Freeport of Monrovia and the ports of Buchanan, Greenville and Harper (near Pedebo, a crossing point to Côte d’Ivoire). Especially Harper and Greenville are known as main outlets for the timber industry. Only containerized logs and processed-wood products can be shipped out of Monrovia, while the three other ports accept both logs (in bulk) and containerized logs or products. Containerization is becoming a most popular export method out of Liberia. Only self-loading ships operate in Liberia; ships cannot berth at Harper, hence logs/ timber products must be transferred to the ships by barge or rafts of floating logs.
Data table
| Production (X 1000m3) |
Imports (X 1000m3) |
Domestic consumption (X 1000m3) |
Exports (X 1000m3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| logs | 501 | 0 | 365 | 136 |
| Sawnwood | 133 | 1 | 132 | 1 |
| Veneer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Plywood | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
ITTO (2019), data 2017