Guyana
Last updated: 07 March 2020
Profile
Profile
Forestry and legality
| Source | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Latin America & Caribbean | (2019) | UNSD | |
| FLEGT status | VPA negotiating | (2019) | FLEGT Facility | |
| Forest area | 16.5 | million ha | (2015) | FAO |
| Deforestation rate | 0.01 | million ha/year | (2010-2015) | FAO |
| Planted area | 0 | million ha | (2015) | FAO |
| Tree cover loss | 183 | kha | (2001-2018) | Global Forest Watch |
| Tree cover loss (%) | 0.96 | % | (2001-2018) | Global Forest Watch |
| Tree cover gain | 11.4 | kha | (2001-2012) | Global Forest Watch |
| FSC certified area | 423,565 | ha | (December 2019) | FSC |
| PEFC certified area | 0 | ha | (December 2019) | PEFC |
| Double certified area (FSC & PEFC) | 0 | ha | (Mid-2019) | FSC & PEFC |
VPA status of Guyana
Guyana initialed the VPA agreement with the EU in 2018, with one emphasis being its role in upholding indigenous Amerindian people’s rights and interests.
At the same time, a final draft of Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) was developed with an aim to make the country a ‘de-carbonised, resource efficient economy’.
The GSDS was developed through a multi-layered, nationwide, stakeholder consultation process conducted throughout 2018, with the technical support of the UN Environment Regional Office in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The GSDS was revised and submitted to the Government’s Cabinet in April 2019 and implementation is due to begin in 2020.
To help progress its VPA, in 2018 Guyana launched formal consultations on new Forestry Regulations to receive input from private sector and civil society.
Also in 2018, Guyana formalised a compulsory Code of Practice for forest operations which is now incorporated into the legal framework. The new Regulations and Code of Practice allow for a more robust system of monitoring.
As well as clarifying legal and administrative requirements applicable to the forest sector, the VPA process has led to other governance gains. It has strengthened government institutions responsible for forestry, tax, customs, environment, labour and land use, and improved coordination between them.
In a boost for transparency, the Guyana Forestry Commission now publishes information about allocation of logging concessions on its website.
Forest resources in Guyana
According to the Guyana Forestry Commission, forests cover 18.48 million hectares, 87% of Guyana’s total surface area.
Of the forestland, 12.57 million hectares is designated as State Forests and placed under the management of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC)
Of designated state forests, 4.68 million hectares (37.25%) have been allocated for timber extraction through State Forest Permits, State Exploratory Permits, and Timber Sales Agreements. Another 0.75 million hectares have been designated as protected and research areas. The remaining 7.13 million hectares were unallocated in 2018.
Another ninety-six (mostly forested) areas, covering just over 3 million hectares have been conveyed as Amerindian Titled Lands, the largest private landownership in Guyana.
According to FAO 2015 Forest Resource Assessment, deforestation averaged only 5,360 hectares per year between 1990 and 2015, a very low rate compared to other tropical countries. 90% of Guyana’s forest remains intact, according to the World Bank. The main deforestation driver in recent years has been development for mining.
Common species found in Guyana include Mora gonggrijpii (morabukea), Chlorocardium rodiei (greenheart), Vouacapoua macropetala (sarabebeballi) and Clathrotropis brachypetala (aromata), according to ITTO’s 2011 Status of Tropical Forest Management report.
Industry
Industry
Economic and industrial status
| Source | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | 3.6 | billion USD | (2018) | World Bank |
| Population | 0.8 | million | (2018) | World Bank |
| Income group | Upper middle income | (2019) | World Bank | |
| Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Rank | 134 | / 190 | (2019) | World Bank |
| Global Competitiveness Index Rank | unavailable | / 141 | (2019) | World Economic Forum |
| Liner Shipping Connectivity Index | 9.2 | (maximum value in 2004 = 100) | (2019) | World Bank |
Timber industry competitiveness of Guyana
The forest products sector in Guyana comprises a few foreign owned medium to large enterprises, several family-owned small to medium enterprises, several community chain saw operating associations, and several one-person chain saw operators.
Guyana has some competitive advantages in the wood product sector, notably the large area of relatively intact forest with several desirable hardwood species, such as greenheart, purpleheart, and wamara, the latter a substitute for rosewood that has been overharvested elsewhere.
The Government of Guyana has a policy to develop value-added processing in the country, particularly of lesser known species, and has indicated willingness to offer fiscal incentives to achieve this goal.
However, other factors make Guyana a challenging environment for development of a globally competitive forest sector. Infrastructure in Guyana remains generally inadequate and unevenly maintained. Frequent and unpredictable electrical outages, high electricity costs, no deepwater port, a low percentage of paved roads, relatively high telecommunication costs, and an underdeveloped transportation system complicate commercial operations.
These challenges are reflected in Guyana’s relatively low position on international competitiveness indices. Guyana’s hasn’t been listed on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness index since 2017, after slipping through the ranks in previous years. Ranking on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index fell from 126th in 2017 to 134th in 2018. Guyana is ranked very low (131st) on the Global Connectivity Index.
As a result, Guyana’s wood products sector is characterised by a focus on relatively low value primary activities, log harvesting and processing of green lumber and some plywood manufacturing.
Trade Overview
Trade Overview
Highlights
According to the Guyana Forestry Commission, Guyana produced 293,100 m3 of logs in 2018, 4% more than 2017. In 2018, 67,600 m3 of production was of high quality “Special Category” logs, mainly comprising greenheart, with smaller volumes of purpleheart and other species.
In addition to logs, 24,000 m3 of small diameter poles, piles and posts were produced in 2018, 13% more than in 2017. Much of this volume comprised greenheart and wallaba.
44,600 m3 of primary lumber was produced in 2018, 7% more than in 2017. The primary species used for lumber production in 2018 were Kabukalli, Greenheart, Wallaba, Tauroniro Bulletwood, Purpleheart, Simarupa, Mora and Shibadan.
Plywood production was 14,600 m3 in 2018, nearly double the volume of 2017 (7,333 m3) according to Guyana Forestry Commission data.
Guyana also produced 10,400 m3 of charcoal and 13,600 m3 of fuelwood in 2018.
Guyana’s imports and exports of timber products in the latest 12 months (USD value from January 2019 to December 2019)
NOTE: Mirror data from STIX, drawing on trade data reported by Guyana’s main trading partners, is used. Read more about the data in ‘Data Sources and Issues’.
Hover over the chart to see the value.
| Imports (23.62 Million USD) | Exports (33.98 Million USD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Country | Product | Product | Country | Region |
Guyana’s production, imports, exports and domestic consumption of primary wood products in 2018
(data source: ITTO) Hover over the chart to see the value.
Trend in production, imports, exports and domestic consumption of primary wood products (logs, sawnwood, plywood, and veneer) in Guyana
(data source: ITTO) 
Imports
Imports
NOTE: Mirror data from STIX, drawing on trade data reported by Guyana’s main trading partners, is used. Read more about the data in ‘Data Sources and Issues’.
Highlights
Guyana imported timber products with a total value of around US$22.4 million in 2018, a rise from US$21.3 million the previous year.
Imports from the US, the leading supplier, declined from US$7.8 million in 2017 to US$6.6 million in 2018. The main imports from the US include paper, mouldings and sawnwood.
Imports from China increased from US$4.7 million in 2017 to US$5.2 million in 2018, about half comprising paper products and the remainder mainly furniture and plywood.
Imports from Brazil decreased from US$2.8 million in 2017 to 2.6 million in 2018, mainly comprising paper products, doors and plywood.
Guyana imported timber products with a total value of US$2.7 million from the EU in 2018, mostly paper products sourced from Netherlands and Poland.
Trend in Guyana’s timber product imports by region (12-month rolling averages)
Guyana’s top 5 import partners in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Country | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| United States | 9.76 |
| China | 6.52 |
| Brazil | 2.75 |
| Netherlands | 1.14 |
| Canada | 1.03 |
Guyana’s timber product imports by product group in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Product | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| Paper | 12.27 |
| Wood | 6.03 |
| Furniture | 5.33 |
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Guyana’s timber product imports by product group and region (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Guyana’s timber product imports from top 5 origin countries by product group (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Total value of Guyana’s wood product imports from top 5 origin countries in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
(unit: 1000 USD)
| Composite panels | Fuel and charcoal | Joinery | Logs and other raw wood | Other processed wood | Pallets, packaging and barrels | Sawnwood and mouldings | Veneers and plywood | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All countries | 529 | 11 | 1,165 | 26 | 140 | 1,587 | 1,210 | 1,358 |
| Rank 1 | China 218 | China 11 | Brazil 674 | United States 26 | China 61 | United States 1,584 | United States 1,210 | Brazil 781 |
| Rank 2 | Brazil 203 | United States 278 | United States 39 | Brazil 1 | China 549 | |||
| Rank 3 | Chile 56 | China 212 | United Kingdom 28 | Canada 1 | United States 28 | |||
| Rank 4 | United States 43 | Canada 1 | Brazil 11 | France 1 | ||||
| Rank 5 | United Kingdom 9 | Portugal 1 |
*Wood products are products under Chapter 44 of Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS).
Exports
Exports
NOTE: Mirror data from STIX, drawing on trade data reported by Guyana’s main trading partners, is used. Read more about the data in ‘Data Sources and Issues’.
Highlights
Guyana exported wood and wood furniture products with total value of US$37.9 million in 2018, 3% less than US$39.1 million in 2017.
Exports comprise mainly logs (35% of value in 2018) and sawnwood (40%) with lesser quantities of small-diameter roundwood (8%) and splitwood (10%), and plywood (4%).
Exports of other value-added products and of fuelwood were negligible in 2018.
Log export declined in both volume and value in 2018, by 8.3% to 81,260 m3 and 9.1% to US$13.3 million respectively. In 2018, 71% of log exports were destined for China, 19% for India with smaller volumes to Japan, Singapore, and Viet Nam. Log exports to the EU were negligible in 2018.
Sawnwood exports also declined in 2018, down 10.6% in volume to 15,680 m3 and by 7.8% in value to US$15.2 million. Sawnwood exports declined sharply to Asia (-35% to 2100 m3) and the Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) region (-21% to 6710 m3) in 2018. This decline was partly offset by rising exports to the EU (+10% to 3,250 m3) and North America (+26% to 3,600 m3).
Exports of small diameter poles, piles and posts increased by 16.2% in volume to 5,540 m3 and 31.2% in value to US$3.2 million in 2018.
Exports of splitwood, all comprising shingles, also increased in 2018, rising by 7.7% in value to US$3.9 million and 0.5% in volume to 4,050 m3. Around two thirds of shingles exports are to the LAC region and most of the remainder to North America.
Plywood export increased by 11.9% and 16.2% in volume and value in 2018, respectively to 2,925 m3 and US$1.58 million.
Total value of Guyana’s exports of timber products in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Total export: | 33.98 Million USD |
| Total export to EU: | 4.16 Million USD |
| Total export to other regulated countries (Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, United States of America, and Viet Nam): | 0.04 Million USD |
Trend in Guyana’s timber product exports by region (12-month rolling averages)
Guyana’s top 5 export partners in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Country | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| China | 17.02 |
| United States | 9.39 |
| Netherlands | 1.92 |
| New Zealand | 1.89 |
| Taiwan | 1.41 |
Trend in Guyana’s timber product exports to EU and other regulated countries (12-month rolling averages)
*Other regulated countries include Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, United States of America, and Viet Nam
Total value of Guyana’s exports by timber product group in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Product | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| Wood | 33.96 |
| Furniture | 0.01 |
| Paper | 0.01 |
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Trend in Guyana’s exports by timber product group and region (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Trend in Guyana’s exports to top 5 destination countries by timber product group (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Trend in Guyana’s timber product exports to regulated (EU and others) and unregulated countries (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Total value of Guyana’s wood product exports in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
(unit: 1000 USD)
| Fuel and charcoal | Joinery | Logs and other raw wood | Sawnwood and mouldings | Veneers and plywood | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All countries | 9 | 1,083 | 20,053 | 12,720 | 92 |
| Rank 1 | Ireland 9 | United States 969 | China 16,996 | United States 7,690 | United States 92 |
| Rank 2 | France 114 | Taiwan 1,370 | New Zealand 1,856 | ||
| Rank 3 | United States 621 | Netherlands 1,344 | |||
| Rank 4 | Netherlands 581 | United Kingdom 1,300 | |||
| Rank 5 | Italy 247 | Germany 247 |
Trend in Guyana’s wood product exports to regulated countries (12-month rolling averages)
*Regulated countries include European Union, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, United States of America, and Viet Nam.
EU Imports
EU Imports
(data source: Eurostat COMEXT)
Highlights
EU imports of timber products from Guyana have been low and volatile in recent years, a reflection of the limited range of products on offer (mainly focused on logs and sawnwood, particularly of greenheart) and their use in specialist niche applications (notably water protection works).
In 2018, the EU imported 3,130 tonnes of sawnwood from Guyana, a slight increase from 3,015 tonnes in 2017, but well down on 5,000 tonnes in 2015 and trade in excess of 10,000 tonnes in the years immediately before the financial crises
The EU imported 1,320 tonnes of logs from Guyana in 2018, up from only 850 tonnes in 2017.
Although the EU imported small quantities of logs from Guyana every year in the period 2004 to 2018, the annual volume never exceeded 2,300 tonnes and hit a low of only 100 tonnes in 2014.
Nearly all EU imports from Guyana in the period 2004 to 2018 were destined for just two countries, the Netherlands and the UK.
Trend in EU imports of timber products from Guyana by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in EU timber product imports from Guyana to top 5 destination countries (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in timber product imports from Guyana to top 5 EU countries by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in EU imports of wood products from Guyana by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in wood product imports from Guyana to top 5 EU countries by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Total quantity of EU imports of wood product from Guyana to top 5 destination countries in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
(unit: kg)
| Fuel and charcoal | Joinery | Logs and other raw wood | Sawnwood and mouldings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All countries | 64,959 | 96,500 | 1,670,424 | 3,466,488 |
| Rank 1 | Ireland 64,959 | France 96,500 | Netherlands 730,920 | United Kingdom 1,739,550 |
| Rank 2 | Italy 581,391 | Netherlands 1,402,676 | ||
| Rank 3 | Denmark 211,633 | Germany 179,498 | ||
| Rank 4 | Poland 108,370 | Belgium 82,090 | ||
| Rank 5 | Belgium 38,110 | France 62,674 |
*Wood products are products under Chapter 44 of Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS).
Data Sources and Issues
Data Sources and Issues
Due to lack of access to regular data on timber product exports from Guyana, the statistics shown in this IMM report draw on import data from 44 major timber trading countries in the EU, Asia and America. While these countries include many of Guyana’s most significant trade partners there are significant omissions including neighbouring countries in the Latin America/Caribbean region, and India and Viet Nam which are significant markets for logs.
Where necessary, the commentary in this report draws on additional secondary sources, notably the Guyana Forestry Commission’s Forest Sector Information Report Annual Review.