By JAMES KUNDA –

THE Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) has with immediate effect suspended registration of new sawmillers due to the decline in the soft wood yields.

The decline in soft wood yield from the existing plantations and the diminishing tree plantations locally will result in a shortage of timber in Zambia.

Zambia National Association for Sawmillers (ZNAS) secretary general William Bwalya, who confirmed this in Ndola, said only the existing sawmillers previously registered with ZAFFICO would be allowed to participate in timber processing activities.

“From the foregoing view point, the country is headed for a timber shortage soon if no remedial measures are taken. There has been a 50 per cent increase in round wood harvesting over the last decade and the annual allowable cut also dropped from 501,000 cubic metres to 228,000 cubic metres in 2013,” he said.

Mr Bwalya said the decision which had already been tabled before the Competition and Consumer protection Commission (CCPC), could only be reversed when the country has adequate stocks of soft wood to support timber processing.

“The problems the soft wood industry is facing are historical remnants of the past when the country neglected or abandoned the planting of trees altogether.

“Current stocks are inadequate to satisfy the local demand and so it has been decided that licences cannot be given to new entrants due to scarcity of timber resources in the soft wood industry,” Mr Bwalya said.

He said demand for round wood had continued to grow and the number of customers continued to increase despite the stagnant stocks in tree plantations.

Mr Bwalya said the current demand for timber locally had outstripped supply and the current harvesting levels could not be sustained in the near future if the harvesting trends continued to be above the annual allowable cut.

Mr Bwalya said ZNAS paid the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) K136,000 as due diligence assessment of fees for the bank to consider the association’s project of a plantation establishment alongside Zaffico.

ZNAS has secured 100 hectares of land for the development of a timber cluster in Lufwanyama with 123 sawmillers intended to add value to the wood cut.

Further more, 23 plots have been allocated to the association to house a few sawmillers on Kitwe-Chingola Highway for the same purpose.