Commodity report

Trends in consumption up to 1965
Estimates of future demand
Intermediate processing stages
Trends in the main end-use sectors
End-use pattern
Conclusion

Consumption tropical hardwoods in Europe

Trends in consumption up to 1965

In 1965 Europe's imports of tropical hardwoods in both processed and unprocessed form amounted to some 7.8 million m³ roundwood equivalent (r. eq.), which may be compared with volumes of approximately 2.0 million m³ r. eq. in 1949-51 and of 6.1 million m³ r. eq. in 1959-61. Calculations, based on data elaborated later, show, very approximately, the breakdown by commodity of tropical hardwood net imports and consumption in 1965 (Table 1).

TABLE 1. - EUROPE 'S NET IMPORTS AND ESTIMATED CONSUMPTION OF TROPICAL HARDWOODS IN 1965
(Million m³ r. eq.)

	Net imports		Consumption		Conversion in Europe
	Volume	Percent	Volume	Percent	Volume
Logs	5.4	69	0.2	2
Sawnwood	1.9	25	3.2-3.6	41 46	1.3-1.7
Plywood	0.4	5	2.6-2.8	33-36	2.2-2.4
Veneers	0.05	1	1.4-1.6	18-21	1.3-1.5
TOTAL (rounded)	7.8	100	7.8	100

The above figures, which, it is again stressed, are only approximate, indicate the broad breakdown of tropical hardwood consumption by assortment. They show that rather more than two fifths of Europe's total consumption of tropical hardwoods in 1965 was in the form of sawnwood, roughly one third as plywood and one fifth as veneers, with a relatively insignificant volume being used in round or roughly squared form, chiefly for harbor installations and other hydraulic works.

Full text obtainable from Sales Section, United Nations Office, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, price $0 15, as Supplement 9 to Volume XIX (19) of the Timber Bulletin for Europe. Based on a paper prepared by the FAO/ECE Timber Division for a mooting in 1966 of a joint UNCTAD/FAO working party on forest and timber products (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: Trade and Development Board: Committee on Manufactures).

In 1950 the share of tropical hardwoods in the total European consumption of industrial wood was much smaller than it is today. During the 1950s this proportion increased rapidly, partly due to the substitution of tropical for temperate-zone species, which was assisted by the availability and accessibility of supplies in the tropical countries. Nevertheless, in 1965 tropical hardwoods still accounted for less than 3 percent of Europe's total consumption of industrial wood, a proportion which is increased to 4 percent if the pulp and paper sector is excluded. The importance of tropical hardwoods, however, lies not so much in the volumes involved as in the fact that they fill a demand for utility as well as decorative timber, which Europe itself is no longer able to satisfy entirely from its own forest resources. Up to 1960, therefore, consumption of tropical hardwoods rose much faster than that of total wood consumption, and also faster than growth in Europe's aggregate Gross National Product (GNP) and the construction of houses. Since then, however, the rate of increase has been much less rapid. Nevertheless, although conclusive data are lacking, it appears that the share of tropical hardwoods in total wood consumption still continued to increase between 1960 and 1965 (Table 2).

TABLE 2. - GROWTH INDICATORS IN EUROPE

	1960	1965	1975 estimate
	960 = 100	1960 = 100
Gross National Product (GNP)	166	128	204
Dwelling completions	190	125	152
TOTAL consumption of industrial wood	138	117	146
of which: tropical	1310	1127	175-200
TOTAL consumption of sawnwood	122	113	117
of which: sawn hardwood	131	121	129
TOTAL consumption of panel products	315	156	296
of which: plywood and veneers	233	124	217

¹ Unofficial figures or secretariat estimate.

Estimates of future demand

Generally speaking, an analysis of consumption in recent years and estimates for the future - examined from the point of view of demand in the various end use sectors later in this chapter - would suggest that the growth pattern between 1960 and 1965 may not be an. altogether misleading guide for the future; this is true at least so far as the relationship between the rate of growth of consumption of tropical hardwoods and that of other relevant indicators is concerned. If therefore tropical hardwood consumption keeps pace with the growth of European GNP and dwelling construction, as it did between 1960 and 1965; and if it is assumed that the prediction in European timber trends and prospects: a new appraisal 1950-75 of a doubling in GNP between 1960 and 1975 proves correct and that, following current indications, its forecast of a 52 percent increase over 15 years in housing completions is too low, then it may be expected that demand for tropical hardwoods in 1975 will be 1.75 to 2 times higher than in 1960. That could mean a consumption of about 11 to 12 million m³ r. eq. a year, compared with 6.1 million m³ in 1959-61 and about 7.8 million m³ in 1965.

This estimate of an increase in consumption over 15 years of 5 million to 6 million m³ r. eq., requiring of course a roughly equivalent increase in imports, falls short of the estimate given in the study of an increase in imports between 1960 and 1975 of broadleaved veneer logs (largely tropical) or their equivalent in plywood and veneers of 8-10 million m³ r. eq., plus a further 1 million m³ r. eq. of tropical hardwood sawlogs or sawnwood. The case for the more modest forecast is supported by the sharp slowing down in the rate of growth in Europe's imports of tropical hardwood logs (still the main constituent of imports) between 1960 and 1965.

Intermediate processing stages

Virtually all the tropical hardwoods imported into Europe either undergo processing in European sawmills or in plywood and veneer factories, or arrive in the form of sawnwood, plywood and veneers. The Timber Trends Study is not so much concerned with the consumption patterns in these intermediate industries, since it is the final end-use pattern which ultimately determines consumption. However, some general remarks would seem in place, following the discussion on the production and import trends of logs and processed products.

SAWN HARDWOOD

Table 3 gives an estimate of total sawnwood consumption up to 1975, combining coniferous species and broadleaved species from both temperate and tropical zones.

In 1950, sawn hardwood (temperate-zone and tropical) represented about 17.5 percent of the total European consumption of sawnwood (softwood and hardwood, excluding sleepers). In 1960, the proportion had risen to about, 18.5 percent and, according to estimates derived from the study, it may make up approximately 20.5 percent in 1975 (Table 4).¹ In other words, the rate of growth of sawn hardwood consumption has been, and will probably remain, somewhat faster than that of total consumption of sawnwood.

¹ In fact by 1965 sawn hardwood's share had already risen to almost 20 percent.

TABLE 3. - EUROPEAN CONSUMPTION OF SAWNWOOD BY END USES

	1950	1960	1975 estimate
TOTAL 1	Million m3 (s)
of which:	61	75	87
new housing	13.1	17.3	20.5
new nonresidential construction	11.0	15.6	22.8
repairs and maintenance	5.4	5.7	7.0
furniture	5.0	6.8	8.6
packaging	7.9	10.2	13.8
vehicles and ships	2.3	1.8	0.9
mining	3.6	3.3	2.8
sleepers	3. 5	2.8	1.8
other industrial uses	9.7	5.5	5.5
rural uses	9.7	6.2	3.5

SOURCE: European timber trends and prospects: a new appraisal 1950-1975, p. 78.
¹ Rounded to nearest million m³.

TABLE 4. - APPARENT CONSUMPTION OF SAWN HARDWOOD IN EUROPE

	1949-51 average	1954-56 average	1959-61 average	1965	1975 estimate
Volume, million m3 (s)	10.4	11.3	13.6	16.4	17.5
Average annual increase over 5-year period, percent p.a.		+1.6	+3.8	+3.8	1+1.9

¹ Projected average annual increase 1960-75

Compared with an expected expansion of nearly 4 million m³ in 15 years from 1959-61 to 1975, sawn hardwood consumption :rose by approximately 2.5 million m³ between 1959-61 and 1965. Thus, sawn hardwood consumption has so far risen appreciably faster than anticipated. There is no certainty, of course, that this will result in consumption in 1975 being much in excess of the estimate of 17.5 million m³ derived from the study, although the prospect, of this figure being attained some years before 1975 is a distinct possibility. As foreseen in the study, much of the additional sawn hardwood has up to the present time been provided from southeastern Europe but, as noted earlier, growth of imports from developing regions has been impressive in recent years and by 1975 tropical sawnwood will probably be an even more important factor than at present.

Europe's consumption of tropical sawn hardwood is calculated to have been of the order of 1.7 to 1.9 million m³ (s) in 1965. Thus in that year tropical hardwoods accounted for between 10 and 12- percent of total sawn hardwood consumption. Over 1 million m³ (s) of the above volume were imported into Europe already sawn. This represented about 45 percent of Europe's total imports of sawn hardwood, compared with about 37 percent in 1959-61. Within Europe the share varied greatly from country to country. For example in 1965 about 85 percent of French imports were of tropical species (due to large indigenous supplies of temperate hardwoods of suitable size for sawing). In several countries, including the United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany, Netherlands and Belgium-Luxembourg, tropical species accounted for between 45 and 60 percent of total sawn hardwood imports, while other countries such as Italy and Switzerland incorporated a far smaller share of tropical woods in their imports.

Unfortunately not a great deal is known about the percentage of tropical sawn timber in the total sawn hardwood production in European countries; as far as can be ascertained, official statistics on this exist in only a few countries. From unofficial sources, however, it has been possible to obtain information, on the basis of which it is tentatively estimated that between 1.3 and 1.7 million m³ ® of tropical hardwood logs (see Table 1) were converted into sawnwood in Europe in 1965, giving a sawn volume of between 700,000 and 900,000 m³ (s).

Plywood (including blackboards) and veneers

Expansion of Europe's consumption of plywood and veneers since 1950 has been considerably more rapid than that of sawn hardwood, even though in the first half of the 1960s there was evidence of a slowing down in the growth rate of plywood and veneers. The study had, in fact, estimated a slower rate of expansion between 1960 and 1975 than between 1950 and 1960. Apparent consumption in Europe is shown in Table 5.

Regarding the future development of the European plywood market, a number of questions remain open. For example, will plywood be able to retain or even increase its share of the overall market for panel products (plywood, veneers, fibreboard and particle board) which the study estimated would treble between 1960 and 1975? The answer, according to the study, is in the negative - that plywood consumption would only double over the 15-year period. And indeed, the trend of consumption between 1960 and 1965 raises some doubt as to whether even this rate of expansion will occur. Plywood has to face severe competition from particle board, consumption of which, incidentally, rose up to 1965 considerably faster even than the rate up to 1975 foreseen in the study.

TABLE 5. - APPARENT CONSUMPTION OF PLYWOOD AND VENEERS IN EUROPE

	1949-51 average	1954-56 average	1959-61 average	1965	1975 estimate
Plywood (hardwood and softwood)
Volume, million m3	1.37	1.99	2.77	3.74	6.10
Average annual increase over 5-year period, percent p.a.		+7.7	+6.8	+6.2	1+4.9
Veneers
Volume, million m3	20,40	20.70	21.10	21.40	22.60
Average annual increase over 5-year period, percent p.a.		+11.8	+9.4	+4.9	+6.4

¹ Projected average annual increase 1960-75. - ² Unofficial figures or secretariat estimate.

Another question: will tropical hardwood plywood be able to increase its share of the total European plywood market? In 1965, according to the best available (but still not fully reliable) estimates, European consumption of tropical plywood amounted to between 1.1 and 1.2 million m³ (2.6 to 2.8 million m³ r.eq.) or between one quarter and one third of total consumption of plywood (softwood, temperate-zone and tropical hardwood). This share of the market was, evidence suggests, similar to, or possibly even slightly less than, the share in 1960. Apart from fluctuations in consumer tastes and habits which could work either for or against an increase in tropical hardwood, plywood made from these species will have to face severe competition from temperate zone plywoods (softwood and hardwood) in the European market. A third very important point is the ability of the plywood producers who use tropical species, whether in Europe or in the developing countries, to take advantage of the rapid technological advance in production methods and product quality.

Again, regarding the manufacture of plywood in Europe itself, will tropical species increase their share? Here, the chances of an affirmative reply are greater because of the expected static supply position in Europe of suitable quality logs, although much depends on the availability of tropical dogs for export as well as the growth of demand for logs by the plywood manufacturing industries in the developing countries themselves.

As in the case of sawn hardwood, information is incomplete regarding the volume of production in Europe from tropical species. It is known, however, that of Europe's total output of plywood and blockboards in 1965, between 25 and 35 percent consisted of tropical hardwoods. The percentage was considerably higher in the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium-Luxembourg and some others but is nil in Finland (Europe's largest plywood producer) and Sweden, and small or nil in Yugoslavia and many eastern European countries. It is estimated that a quarter or a little less of imported plywood consists of tropical species, somewhat more than that level in France, Netherlands, Federal Republic of Germany and Switzerland but about 20 percent of the total in the United Kingdom. Only about 40 percent of Europe's total imports of tropical plywood (11 percent of all plywood imports) are shipped direct from the tropical regions, the other tropical plywood being shipments of plywood processed from tropical logs in Europe itself, or in Israel and Japan.

Incomplete statistical coverage hampers an accurate appraisal of trends in Europe's consumption of veneers. Available evidence suggests a slowing down in the rate of growth since 1960, apparently somewhat sharper than the trend anticipated up to 1975 in the study. This could be at least partly attributable to the striking progress made in recent years in veneer imitations.

It is estimated that around half, or a little more, of European veneer production consists of tropical species. The Netherlands, Belgium-Luxembourg and the United Kingdom constitute the main exceptions relying to a much larger (80 to 90 percent) extent on imported tropical logs. Annual consumption of tropical logs by the European veneer industry is estimated to have been roughly 1.3 million to 1.5 million m³ ® in 1965, giving a production of some 700,000 to 900,000 m³ of tropical hardwood veneers. Europe's own production covered well over 90 percent of the region's requirements of tropical hardwood veneers in 1965, while tropical species made up between 50 and 60 percent of its total consumption of veneers (temperate-zone and tropical) in that year.

Although Europe's imports of veneers direct from developing countries were still small in 1965 (24,000 m³), intra-European trade of veneers converted in Europe from imported logs was considerable. Tropical species made up between 65 and 70 percent of European countries' total imports of veneers, but only about one fifth of Europe's total tropical veneer imports came direct from tropical producing regions.

Trends in the main end-use sectors

It will be seen later that in most European countries where tropical hardwoods are used in substantial volumes, construction, including dwelling construction, and the furniture industries account for the bulk - roughly four fifths - of consumption of these species. Developments in these sectors are therefore vital to the demand for tropical hardwoods.

DWELLINGS

Between 1950 and 1960 the number of dwellings built per annum in Europe rose by about 90 percent to 2.77 million and, according to the study, consumption of sawnwood (softwood and hardwood) in new housing rose by 32, percent over the same period. Between 1960 and 1965 there was a further 25 percent rise to 3.45 million dwellings and a 13 percent increase in total sawnwood use. Whereas in the previous decade the eastern European countries were among those registering the highest growth rates for completions, growth after 1960 was confined to western Europe, where most of the tropical hardwood imports are consumed.

The study estimated that the number of dwellings built in Europe each year would rise by more than 50 percent between 1960 and 1975, with sawnwood consumption in this sector growing by about a third. The trend of completions up to the present time indicates that the forecast of completions in 1975 (4.1 million dwellings) may be exceeded despite stagnation in 1966, and perhaps in 1967 as well. Use of sawnwood in nonresidential construction was expected to increase by 46 percent in the 15 years. Over the same period the consumption of panel products in the construction sector as a whole was estimated to expand fourfold. It is difficult, however, to analyze the consumption of the different types of sawnwood - softwood, temperate-zone or tropical hardwood - or of panels - plywood, particle board, fibreboard - within these sectors.

FURNITURE

For furniture, the study estimated that the use of sawnwood, having risen by 36 percent between 1950 and 1960, would rise by a further 25 percent between 1960 and 1975. Consumption of panel products would double, having risen threefold between 1950 and 1960. However, in furniture manufacture the question of changing tastes complicates the making of predictions regarding particular qualities or species. The examples of changing fashions in oak, teak, palisander and walnut of recent years illustrate this point, and few would like to predict in detail the development of fashion in furniture. Many countries already report an increasing preference for nonwood materials: the adaptability of plastic, in particular, from the point of view of shape, color, strength and texture, has to be taken into account. Even here, the trend in substitution is complicated by the fact that many substitute surface materials, such as plastics, require an underlay material, for which plywood may be suitable. Thus, combination of wood with nonwood products has also to be taken into account as a factor determining trends in demand. The significance of developments in the furniture industry for tropical hardwoods is made clear in the analysis of end-use sectors below.

End-use pattern

Because of the approximate nature of available estimates, it is too hazardous to draw any firm conclusions regarding divergences from the average European end-use pattern of tropical hardwoods. Table 6 does show however that in a few cases there are differences which cannot be wholly explained by possible inaccuracies in estimating the end-use pattern.

TABLE 6. - SUMMARY OF END USES FOR TROPICAL HARDWOODS IN THE MID - 1960s

	Furniture	Construction1	Transport	Ship and boat building2	Packaging3	Hydraulic works	Other 4	Total
	Approximate percentage
Germany, Fed. Rep. of	50-55	36-40	2	2		1-2	5-7	100
United Kingdom	40	40	3-5	5-7.5			7.5-10	100
France	40	36 41.5	2-3	5-6	1.5-2		7-10	100
Netherlands	40	27	3	2-3	4-5	17	5-7	100
Belgium	45	35	2-2.5	4-5	2		8.11	100
Switzerland	40	47-53	1-2	1	1-2		6	100
Sweden	40	35-40	3-5	10			8-10	100
Norway	35-40	32-33	2	20			5-7	100
Weighted average, 8 countries	43-45	37-40	2-3	4-5			9-12	100

¹ Includes door-making and parquet. - ² Including repairs. - ³ May include stuttering in some countries. - ⁴ Where percentage is not shown for "packaging" or "hydraulic works, "this is included under "other."

In the case of furniture it may be noted that more than half the Federal Republic of Germany's total consumption of tropical hardwoods went to this sector. This was noticeably more than in the other countries - except Denmark - for which estimates were obtained, where the range was between 35 and 45 percent.

Most of the above countries used between 30 and 40 percent of their total consumption of tropical hardwoods in construction. Switzerland differed in using a higher proportion (roughly 50 percent) and the Netherlands a lower proportion (about 27 percent). In the latter case, this may be associated with building regulations limiting the use of more expensive materials.

On the other hand, the Netherlands used a relatively large proportion (17 percent) of its tropical hardwood in hydraulic works, which is not altogether unexpected in view of its extensive land reclamation projects and water control activities.

In the ship and boat building and repairing category, the relatively high use of tropical hardwoods may be noted in Norway and Sweden, where these industries are of above average importance in the national economies.

It may be noted in passing that the weighted average in Table 6 probably gives a reasonable picture of the end-use pattern of tropical hardwoods in Europe as a whole, since the eight countries represented accounted for over three quarters of the region's total consumption in 1965.

Although, of the two main end-use sectors, the European furniture industry is still the larger, consuming well over 3 million m³ r. eq. of tropical hardwoods a year, there are indications that consumption of tropical hardwoods in it in many European countries in recent years has grown comparatively slowly or hardly at all. On the other hand, the construction sector, which today is consuming very roughly 3 million m³ r. eq. of tropical hardwoods a year in Europe, was using very little indeed in the early 1950s. In this sector, the rapid growth of tropical hardwoods resulted from their use in place of traditionally used softwoods as well as temperate-zone hardwoods, and there is evidence to suggest that construction will overtake furniture in importance as an outlet for tropical hardwoods at some point in the not too distant future. The main keys to this development have been a wider range of specific uses and applications in construction, an increasing ability to satisfy demands of taste and fashion, and the wider application of lesser known species.

While the furniture industry still consumes most of Europe's decorative veneer production, as well as much of the plywood and sawn timber from tropical species, competition from other materials - both wood based like particle board and fibreboard and nonwood such as plastics - has been, and will continue to be severe.

Many of the same tropical species are used in both furniture and construction (which, it might be added, themselves overlap especially in such areas as built-in furniture) and this is more or less true of all European countries. Thus the softer species, often in the form of plywood and veneer, are used in interior joinery and furniture and in interior decoration for houses, boats, vehicles, etc. Okoumé is the most important species of this kind, and is used either by itself or covered with higher class veneers.

The more durable a species, the more it is used for exterior purposes, although many of these timbers are also very decorative and therefore are widely used in furniture paneling, etc. A speciality in France is the use of sipo and niangon for exterior joinery purposes, whereas this is not so much the case in other countries. This might indicate that the range of application of many species which are neither very soft nor very hard might be extended by widening traditional use patterns. Several special uses were noted in various countries in the earlier analysis, and, although it is not by any means known whether the species concerned are put to similar use in other countries, it is possible that in some cases they represent a new departure. Many other general European consumption patterns are already well-known: the use of azobé for sleepers, of the durable timbers for heavy constructional purposes such as port installations, bridges or, especially in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands, hydraulic construction, or of the Asian species as well as such hard African ones like iroko, kambala and afrormosia, for parquetry. Tropical timbers fall into two main classes: (a) decorative and (b) utility, although some, like mahogany, can be classed in both. The decorative species can, as a whole, be expected to remain in strong even increasing demand, assuming that standards of living continue to rise. The main threat; is from nonwood substitute materials, plastic, melamines, etc. Here, price is a relatively unimportant question - if people want wood they will have it, without worrying too much about what it costs. Technical factors affecting production methods (ease of application, suitability for mass-production techniques, etc.) are likely to count much more.

For utility woods, on the other hand, price and convenience (technical factors) are probably of equal importance. Here the demand is for a material of consistent quality in relatively large quantities that can be supplied on a regular basis. Products made from tropical species must be able to compete in price with other wood products, sawn softwood, temperate-zone hardwoods, as well as particle board and fibreboard, all of which can compete effectively in terms of quality and regularity and adequate availability of supplies. As a consequence, the currently lesser-known (or un-marketed) species are more difficult to introduce into the utility timber market, due to unproved availability in large quantities. If, however, they are also suitably decorative, they should be able to gain a foothold first in the market for the higher-grade special timbers.

From year to year certain species gain importance compared to others, as an analysis of total exports of tropical logs from Africa in 1955/56, and 1962/63 shows (Table 7).

TABLE 7. - EXPORTS OF LOGS FROM AFRICA

	1955-56	1962-63	Change
			Volume	Percent
	Thousand m3
Okoumé (1963) 1	774	1201	+427	+55
Obéché (1963)	486	1142	+656	+135
Sipo (1963)	74	399	+325	+439
Limba (1960)	231	318	+87	+38
Acajou-mahogany (1960)	194	233	+39	+20
Sapelli (1960)	91	162	+71	+78
Makoré (1961)	74	112	+38	+51
Ilomba (1963)	35	94	+59	+169
Kokrodua (1963)	5	66	+61	13 times
Abura (1962)	66	77	+11	+17
Tiama (1963)	15	71	+56	+373
Iroko (1959)	34	56	+22	+65
TOTAL, 12 species	2079	3931	1852	89

SOURCE OECD. Statistics of tropical timber.
¹ Year in brackets indicates peak year between 1955 and 1963.

In 1962/63, the following species were also exported as logs in quantity from African countries: azobé, dibetou-sida, niangon, ako, doussié, tola, douka, tchitola, framiré and guarea.

The most important species exported from Africa in sawnwood form in 1962/63 were: obéché, sipo, acajoumahogany, sapelli, kokrodua, tall, limba, tola, nakoré, iroko, azobé and framiré. From the above table it will be noted that kohrodua (afrormosia) has shown the most spectacular increase, but sipo and tiama increased at a rate well above the average for the 12 species under consideration. Dibetou and bété (mansonia) are two other species whose growth in consumption has been particularly notable.

A further indication of the species composition of European imports may be given by looking at the breakdown of tropical hardwood imports into some of the largest importing countries (Table 8).

TABLE 8. - BREAKDOWN BY SPECIES or. TROPICAL HARDWOOD IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE NETHERLANDS

	United Kingdom
	Sawnwood		Logs
	1956	1963	1956	1963
	Percentage
Ramin	19	17
Keruing	14	14
Obéché	7	8	18	15
Sipo	5	8	9	10
Mahogany 1	8	6	30	19
Meranti	2	5
Kohrodua	1	5
Teak	6	3
Sapelli	5	4	3	5
Iroko	1	2	3	3
Abura			11	13
All others	32	28	26	35
TOTAL	100	100	100	100
	Netherlands
Keruing-yang	45	47
Teak	9	8	4	2
Mahogany	4	5	14	13
Kokrodua	6	5		10
Ramin	6
Obéché	4	4		8
Okoumé			43	27
Azobé				17
All others	26	31	39	23
TOTAL	100	100	100	100

SOURCE: OECD. Statistics of tropical timber.
¹ Including okoumé.

The most significant changes seen in Table 8 are the far higher percentage of "other species" in the composition of the tropical log import pattern in the United Kingdom in 1963 compared with 1956, and the reduction in the importance of okoumé in log imports by the Netherlands. In both countries the tendency has been for increase in consumption to be spread out fairly evenly over a wide variety of species, although the growth in availability of some of the most popular species has fallen markedly behind the overall growth in use of tropical hardwoods, even declining in some cases. In both countries two Asian species continued to hold the first places in the sawn hardwood imports. The increasing imports of lauan by several European countries has been an important factor in recent years.

Table 9 indicates some changes in the species composition of imports of logs by the Federal Republic of Germany, France and Spain.

Due to the lack of other statistics the 1956 figures for the Federal Republic of Germany's imports show only the percentage of imports from African countries, and are not therefore comparable with the 1963 figures. However, they do bring out the change in relative importance between obéché and okoumé, the two largest single species imported. In France, there was a notable rise in sipo log imports, and the fall in imports of a species with a similar end-use pattern, niangon, can be attributed, at least in part, to the growth in popularity of sipo. In Spain, okoumé, and ilomba represented a higher share of Spanish Guinea supplies in 1963 than four years previously, which meant that the share of most other species fell, although several species appear in the OECD Statistics for 1963 as being imported in significant quantities, which were not included in the 1959 figures.

At the risk of attracting overmuch attention to a small number of species, it might be worthwhile to pick out some but by no means all of the timbers which deserve greater popularity due to their sound technical qualities though in many cases already known and quite widely used. Among species with considerable development potential are:

1. Niangon: very useful for interior and exterior joinery
2. Tiama: especially for interior joinery
3. Agba (tola branca): durable, for interior and exterior purposes
4. Tchitola: for joinery, furniture and plywood-making
5. Danta: durable, for construction, furniture and for uses in the transport sector
6. Merbau: durable, for outside joinery, transport, hydraulic works
7. Tali: durable, for heavy construction, exterior joinery, hydraulic works, flooring
8. Douka: similar to makoré, suitable for peeling or slicing for furniture and interior joinery.

And there are clearly others which could also receive mention in this connection.

Lesser known species

Mention has been made on several occasions in this study of the lesser known species. Since the availability of the currently commercially popular species is diminishing almost everywhere ¹ the possibility of increasing the consumption of these lesser known species has become a matter of great importance. Efforts have been made in this respect for a number of years, but progress has been slow. Generally speaking, the marketers and end users have tended to rely mainly on the well-known species which have been tried and tested over a long period, and have hesitated to risk money in attempts to popularize unknown or lesser known species. This would seem to demand intensified co-operation with and assistance from research institutes and other similar bodies in both consuming and exporting countries which have already built up a considerable fund of knowledge regarding the proper ties of a wide range of tropical species.

¹Or diminishing accessibility is leading to increases in extraction costs to uneconomic levels.

TABLE 9. - PERCENTAGE BREAKDOWN BY SPECIES OF TROPICAL HARDWOOD LOG IMPORTS INTO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, FRANCE AND SPAIN

Germany, Fed. Rep. Of			France 2			Spain 3
	1956 1	1963		1959	1963		1959	1963
Obéché	29	40	Okoumé	53	51	Okoumé	20	24
Okoumé	28	14	Sipo	13	22	Ilomba	7	18
Limba	20	11	Mahogany	5	4	Ekop	12	9
Makoré	6	8	Sapelli	3	4	Limba	11	7
Mahogany	4	5	Niangon	10	3	Ekoune	5	5
Iroko	2	5	Obéché	5	3	Dibetou	7	5
Teak-yang -ramin		3	Ozigo	1	3	Ozigo	3	3
All others	11	14	Tiama	2	2	Andoung	3	3
			All others	8	8	All others	32	26
TOTAL	100	100	TOTAL	100	100	TOTAL	100	100

SOURCE: OECD. Statistics of tropical timber.
¹Percentage of total imports from Africa only.- ² Exports to France of franc area (95 percent of total imports). - ³ Supplies from Spanish Guinea only.

One stimulant would be lower landed prices in Europe, and negotiations have been undertaken in some organizations to attempt to reduce freight rates for lesser known species, since freight charges make up a high percentage of the ultimate cost to the consumer.

It should be stressed, however, that many species which over 10 to 15 years ago were mentioned as being valuable but hardly known are now regularly imported and consumed on a large scale. In this connection, framiré, ilomba, muava, muhuhu, agba (tola branca) and afrormosia can be mentioned specifically.

Conclusion

A considerable fund of knowledge has been built up during the postwar years of the properties and uses of tropical hardwoods, thanks to the work of research laboratories and commercial enterprises. The present study is an attempt to draw attention to the existence of this knowledge, to investigate the consumption patterns of tropical hardwoods in Europe and to relate this to past trends in the consumption and trade of forest products in the region as well as to estimates of future demand. At the outset it was anticipated that a major difficulty would be a lack of detailed as distinct from generalized information about end-use patterns. Consequently, considerable effort was devoted during the preparatory work to attempts to fill this lacuna at least in part. Information of this type is important to producers and importers, if they are not to be hampered in their efforts to develop the full market potential in Europe for tropical hardwoods.

In recent years, the forest industries and trade in Europe, as well as in those regions exporting to Europe, have developed an increasing awareness of the important role that marketing and promotion activities can play in expanding demand for their products. This has come as a contrast from earlier times when there was sometimes a tendency to assume that forest products did not have to be actively "sold" but would find adequate outlets on the basis of the obvious - at least to the sellers - merits of the products themselves. More intense competition from other materials, often backed by promotion campaigns based on thorough market research, has certainly alerted the forest products industries to weaknesses in their past marketing policies. Greater willingness by the latter to undertake marketing activities, however, has often been hindered by lack of adequate information on which to mount a successful campaign. In the case of tropical hardwoods, information on the six points listed below is essential. Such data are especially important where efforts are being made to encourage the expansion of demand for the lesser known species, and include:

1. extent of resources :in the supplying countries;
2. physical properties of' tropical species;
3. commodity composition and cost pattern of tropical hardwoods used in the consuming country;
4. well-established end uses for these products and based on 2, potential new uses to which they might be put;
5. techniques of applying and using them in the end uses mentioned in 4;
6. comparable information concerning competing wood and nonwood materials.

Such information has to be gathered on a continuing basis; the supply situation, costs and end-use patterns in particular are liable to change considerably from one year to the next.

It is beyond the scope of the present study to cover the whole range of these problems, and even in the field of the consumption of tropical hardwoods data have proved to be scarce. Nevertheless a definite pattern does emerge which permits certain generalizations to be made concerning consumption patterns in Europe. If some of the details have had to be filled in on the basis of informed estimates, at least a summary of the present situation is now available which it is hoped will encourage further efforts to assist the marketing of tropical hardwoods in Europe. In the same way that this study is an extension of earlier work in this field, it in turn may serve as a starting-point for more detailed study of the European market for tropical hardwoods.

Such activities cannot be expected to achieve immediate results. In the long run, however, they are indispensable if the best use is to be made of the available wood resources in tropical regions. Furthermore, tropical hardwoods are one of the products for which there are good prospects for further expansion of exports from the developing countries and which, as foreign currency earners, can make a valuable contribution toward improving living standards in those regions. At the same time, tropical hardwoods will continue to have an important part to play in helping to cover the needs of the timber-deficit areas of Europe.