The primary wood processing industry in Malawi is essentially sawmill industry with complimentary production of value added products such as furniture, plywood, block board and matches (DFID, 2000). Malawi consumes much of the sawn wood timber that is produced followed by wood panels, some of which are exported
The processing industry as it exists today consumes mainly softwood logs and peeler logs. The annual output of processing is about US$ 10 million with total exports is estimated at US$ 0.6 million every year, within the SADC region.
Total mechanical wood products are estimated at US$ 4 million from formal sector and US$ 1.5 million form informal sector.
Imports are fined to paper and paperboard, wood products that aren’t manufactured locally. The total value of paper imports is estimated at US$ 60 million per year.
