Timber prices have doubled in the last two years, following increasing demand in the construction industry. Source: New Vision (Uganda)
Construction is growing at a rate of 10% every year.
According to Paul Lunakwita, an official of the National Forestry Authority (NFA) in Uganda, prices of valuable hard wood tree species, such as mahogany, have shot up.
Mahogany is widely preferred in the making of furniture and fittings.
Lunakwita also said Kirundu, a ficus species has also increased in price. Ficus is used during construction.
“It takes several panels to hold concrete during the construction of buildings,” Lunakwita said.
As much as there is timber coming from DR Congo, Lunakwita said traders in the region prefer timber from Ugandan forests because it has a beautiful colour.
“Buyers will only go for DR Congo timber when the Ugandan mahogany has run out,” he said.
This means the demand puts more pressure on protected areas, such as Budongo and Bugoma and on the few remaining mahogany trees.
At a recent workshop at Colline Hotel, Mukono, Bob Kazungu, a forest officer in the water and environment ministry, noted that forestry contributes to the booming construction industry, but is one of the sectors, which receive little funding from the Government.
He also pointed out that forestry contributes to the catchment of water bodies such as rivers, which are being harnessed for hydroelectric power.
The workshop, organised by the Ministry of Water and Environment, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, also observed that enforcement by the Government was weak.
According to Kazungu, illegal timber, including that from the DR Congo, is flooding the market, causing distortion in prices.
The unregulated timber trade is making it hard for traders with timber from authentic sources to stay in business. As a result, he noted, most traders go underground in order to survive, hence less revenue is collected by the Government.
