Theo Erfurth
THEO ERFURTH is Forest Products Marketing Officer in the FAO Forestry Department.
Because the properties of tropical woods vary widely the patterns of use for these woods are quite different from those of temperate zone hardwoods and even more different from those of coniferous woods. In the course of time not only a wide range of uses has developed, but also an appreciable number of specific uses for individual wood species. Consequently, the relationship between uses and wood properties has been rather close, and this has become particularly obvious in the many promotional efforts carried out for tropical timbers. The term "use properties," for instance, is an expression of this close relationship; it comprises a set of property descriptions which are closely related to actual and possible alternative applications.
There is a high degree of flexibility in the use of most wood species, and lists indicating possible uses for individual species could be endlessly repetitive particularly for those with good average properties. The possible specialization in specific uses therefore has marked economic advantages. If a wood species is marketed at elevated or premium prices it is normally because of good average properties and at least one additional outstanding feature, often related to the decorative aspects. Also other characteristics such as a combination of good strength and durability properties, e.g. greenheart, find their appreciation on the market. There are of course many examples for the excellent performance of individual tropical wood species in specific end uses, which cannot be met by conifers and hardwoods from the temperate zone because there are no species with equivalent properties. On the other hand, drastic examples have been reported where wood values because of ignorance or negligence did not materialize, e.g. the use of fine joinery timbers for railway sleepers, but also cases are known where quality and wood value differences are much narrower, as for instance when peeler logs were used as construction timber. There is of course the fact that wood qualities may vary considerably within individual wood species influencing the determination of wood values. This important aspect should be kept in mind within the context of this paper, although practical implications come to bear only in the formulation and application of grading rules and standards.
Both reason and world-wide experience speak for continuing with marketing practices which optimize wood values. On the other hand, the rising demand for utility timbers, not only in domestic but also increasingly on overseas markets, requires a different approach in promoting tropical timbers. This is so because it is unthinkable for technical and economic reasons that a large number of wood species could be handled individually in the various stages of harvesting, processing and trade. However, major uses for utility timbers and their technical requirements can be identified and specified relatively easily.
It follows that more attention must be given to the grouping of wood species, and in this context to the establishment of end-use property classification systems with emphasis on specifying end-use requirements. Particular mention is made of a system now being prepared by the Building Research Establishment of the Princes Risborough Laboratory in the United Kingdom. It defines the properties of importance in selection for each use and proposes levels for each property to give an adequate performance in production and use. Approaches like this one are extremely useful in avoiding technical and commercial problems which might arise in grouping wood species in a haphazard manner.
The success or failure of grouping wood species for promotional purposes largely depends on the degree of similarity in use properties. If properties are identical, different species could be marketed together, perhaps even for highly sophisticated uses. However, a few deviations from average properties, for example in colour or surface finishing, may cause severe disturbances in the chain linking producers, traders and users. Larger differences seriously and adversely affect prices and often result in breaking up the grouping, with the consequence that those species with deviating or varying properties have to be singled out. To some extent utility grades and similar assortments might tolerate deviations from a given average quality, but at the expense of price. Grouping of wood species has been commercially very successful - although this success has so far been restricted only one of the major producing regions of tropical wood, namely Southeast Asia. In this region the bulk of the commercial timbers is 1 raced in a few major groups, the most important of which belong to the Dipterocarp family.
In attacking the problem of lesser-used wood species to the above two possibilities of (1) optimizing values of individual species, and (2) grouping of wood species, another approach needs to be taken into account, namely (3) the promotion of mixed tropical hardwoods for integrated industrial use, which implies that combined action with (1) and (2) is possible and often necessary.
The need for promoting integrated industrial usage is related to the fact that certain tropical wood species will also in future not, or only insufficiently, be used in their solid form, that is, for sawnwood, veneer and/or plywood. However, prospects are becoming increasingly favourable for using such species in their disintegrated form as chips and fibres and it must be expected that in future board and/or pulp factories will compete in individual localities with sawmills, veneer and plywood mills for utility and low-grade wood materials. In certain areas in Southeast Asia developments are very close to such a situation already.
Knowledge of the use and marketing of wood species is an essential basis for the various planning and management activities in the tropical forestry and mechanical forest industries sector. This is so for the following reasons:
For resource surveys and industrial identification and pre-feasibility studies in specific tropical forest areas the need arises to provide a use-property-screening pattern for the evaluation of unknown or incompletely known wood species. At this stage basic requirements are that the testing pattern should be relatively simple and the number of tests should be reduced to a few essential ones. Already known results of tests and research on individual species properties need to be available at this stage only in a summary fashion for the assessment of the commercial potential of the resource, and to define the kind and depth of further technical investigations.
For industrial feasibility studies and the subsequent industrial management phase specific technical as well as resource and market information is essential for deciding on the product mix to be manufactured and marketed. Experience with and documentation on the properties of already commercialized species is normally plentiful and efforts need to centre on the lesser-used species. On the other hand even many of the commercial species are frequently not, or only insufficiently, known in neighbouring countries, and there is need for exchanging experience and knowledge between foresters, researchers and industries and marketing specialists.
In support of the above activities the Forestry Department of FAO, in collaboration with forest services, research institutes, and industry and trade associations, is engaged in systematically assessing the magnitude and effect of the problem of lesser-used species on the basis of available quantitative and qualitative information, including also commercial wood species for comparative purposes. The resulting studies are an expansion - both in scope and geographical coverage - of the background paper The Marketing of Tropical Wood: Wood Species from African Tropical Moist Forests, presented to the Third Session of the FAO Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics. The present series comprises an enlarged version of wood species from West and Central Africa, and new studies for tropical South America and Southeast Asian wood species.
These studies arbitrarily define all those species produced in quantities above 1000 m3 per year as "commercial" and all other species as "lesser-used," which are either produced in quantities below 1000 m3 or, if not used commercially, have been identified as having potential for use in the form of sawnwood, veneer and plywood. It is assumed that the number of really unknown wood species is relatively small. The lists established in the appendixes of the studies single out for West and Central Africa, 105 commercial species and 112 lesser-used ones; for Southeast Asia, 634 commercial and 465 lesser-used, and for tropical South America, 210 commercial and 263 lesser-used species.
The list itself is a flexible or "active list" where changes in the two categories will be taken into account for periodical updating, preferably to be made every two years. The evaluation of the lesser-used species is based on a relatively simple classification of use properties: A = good, B = medium, C = bad. It pays special attention to density, which is grouped into L = light. M = medium, U = upper and H = high. Through the use of this simple classification system, research and test results can be made broadly comparable with each other. This approach implies - and this has been done - that the specialized literature needs to be reviewed and scrutinized carefully. Only the results are presented in a summary fashion.
Detailed conclusions from the three regional studies were not available at the time the present paper was prepared, but several features common to all three studies have so far emerged:
It has been possible to identify those commercial species which occur in one or several countries but are either not at all, or only insufficiently, used in neighbouring countries.
Gaps have been identified indicating where knowledge and experience in using certain wood species are incomplete, and where future research and testing are required.
Use properties of commercial and lesser-used species generally speaking do not differ substantially, and from a technical viewpoint lesser-used species are utilizable. More attention, however, should be given as appropriate to seasoning and preservation. In some cases the processing yield might be somewhat lower than for commercial species because of smaller log diameters and/or unfavourable log form.
ANOTHER LINK IN THE DEVELOPMENT CHAIN a wide variety of uses for the lesser-used species
The above studies are not an end in themselves, but are designed to stimulate further action in promoting lesser-used species, in supporting investments, and in diversifying and developing tropical wood products. In this context it is most desirable that the use property evaluation work for lesser-known species be carried on with emphasis. The evaluation system specifically designed for the above studies - though somewhat rudimentary serves the purpose of worldwide comparability of data. In view of the additional information which will in future become available from research work and from practical experience with tropical wood species it appears advisable to consider the possibility of establishing an expanded use property classification system which can be used world-wide, and be readily understandable to a wide range of users.
Any effort in this direction, however, is immediately faced again with the problem of comparability. It cannot be resolved unless a world-wide understanding is reached on the comparability of the various elements of a detailed evaluation system. At this stage - in view of the vast amount of information already available - emphasis should be more on improving the international comparability of existing research results than on standardizing research and testing methods.
The Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics at its Third Session discussed this matter and recommended that FAO in conjunction with the International Union of Forest Research Organization (IUFRO) and in collaboration with other specialized institutions should establish internationally comparable standards for the use properties of lesser-known species. Consequently an FAO/IUFRO meeting of experts is to be held to follow up this recommendation. For initial support of efforts in this direction the FAO secretariat prepared a "Checklist on properties and characteristics for evaluation of lesser-known wood species" (pages F30 and F31, report of the Third Session. Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics, and Appendix VII of above-mentioned regional studies).
Such efforts to stimulate standardization of property evaluation in a summary fashion do not exclude, but rather they emphasize the need for regular indication of sources of detailed information, and for up-to-date monographs or similar descriptions of individual wood species such as the Ligna orbis series internationalis that is being suggested by the Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, in a standardized fashion. Valuable initiatives have been taken in this respect by the IUFRO Project Group on Properties and Utilization of Tropical Wood, and special reference is made to a publication of the Centre technique forestier tropical, Nogent-sur-Marne, Investigations and tests carried out on tropical timber by several research laboratories.
Tropical woods enter national and international trade in various forms and conditions. However, changes occur in requirements for product type and quality as living standards and technologies improve in the course of time. Grading rules and standards as efficient tools of product development provide the basis for optimum performance of products in respective end-uses and for facilitating national and international trade.
At first sight it appears that there is a conflict between attaining the above "facilitation of national and international trade" and at the same time reaching "optimum performance of products in respective end-uses." Taking into account also the fact that product type and quality requirements vary, as consumer attitudes change over time, one gets the impression that the establishment of grading rules and standards must be a long and wearying business.
This is true to some extent for international standards, particularly for those products which are designed for employment close to end-use. In fact, only a few international standards exist for secondary processed or remanufactured wood products and even less for those which are derived from tropical woods. In several technical FAO meetings it has therefore been suggested that it would be useful if producers and consumers would collaborate in order to establish a list of processed products which qualify for international standardization, as opposed to those products which also in future will need to be individually specified at the time of ordering.
Grading rules for tropical sawnwood have existed for several decades. Many of the rules now practiced are built on or are derived from the United States National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) rule. Today the NHLA rule represents a set of individual rules for various kinds and types of sawn hardwood, including also tropical hardwoods, e.g. Philippine Mahogany
This paper does not attempt to review actual practices or to analyse the technical contents of grading rules and related standards. More detailed work of this kind has been carried out on behalf of FAO by Jean Collardet in La normalisation dimensionnelle et qualitative des sciages avivés de bois tropicaux importés en Europe, and by the Wood Technological Association of Japan, Grading System and Rules of Tropical Hardwood Sawnwood Timbers in Japan. This work comprises descriptions of the practical application of rules, including also methods of control and training for timber graders, takes into account any known proposal for changing existing or establishing new grading rules and standards, and last but not least, identifies points and issues which require technical and other support at the national and international level, with a view to harmonizing the rules with the requirements of the producing countries, and applying them more effectively.
In producing countries the best known rules for sawnwood are the Malayan Grading Rules for Sawn Hardwood Timber (MGR). In fact, during 1973 more than three million m3 of lumber had been exported in accordance with MGR specifications, and it appears appropriate to consider these rules somewhat more closely. The Malayan Grading Rules were first introduced in 1949 and subsequently used as a basis for drawing up the FAO Regional Rules for the grading of tropical hardwood timber (other than teak). The MGR have gone through a number of revisions in the light of further experience gained in the application of the rules, better knowledge of Malayan timbers, improvement of production standards and market requirements. Two basic systems are employed in MGR, namely the defect system and the cutting system, the main features of which are as follows
The cutting system of grading is employed for timber that is usually resawn to smaller sizes before use. The "worst" face is graded unless otherwise specified. The percentage of the total surface area of the face graded that can be included in a limited number of Clear Face or Sound Face Cuttings determines the grade. The best grades yield the highest percentages of Clear Face Cuttings.
The defect system is intended for grading timber for special purposes, e.g. railway sleepers, wagon planks and cross arms. Timber graded by this system is normally used in the exact sizes in which it is supplied by the sawmill. If a piece of timber contains more defects than are allowed by the rules for a specific use, it is rejected.
A third system of grading may be added to the MGR rules, namely stress grading - which at present is only a modification of the Defect System as they are virtually "visual" stress grades. According to the Forestry Department, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this system will perhaps be more commonly used when a simple testing device is available to test each piece up to a given working load.
GRADING SAWNWOOD IN KUALA LUMPUR the Malaysians set the standard
Stress grading is becoming more and more important in the timber trade and great efforts are being made to introduce efficient machine grading systems, particularly for the grading of coniferous wood in the large wood consuming areas. In most countries hardwood stress grading did not find acceptance at a similar pace, simply because of the fact that hardwoods are not normally applied in load-bearing constructions. Stress grading of hardwood has received early impetus and support in Australia. Since eucalyptus form the majority of saw log supplies there it is obvious that a large portion of these timbers find their application in structural uses. There can be little doubt that considerable consumption of tropical hardwoods can be achieved for structural purposes provided only that the possibilities and economies of using hardwood can be made widely known and the material can be supplied as dimension stock in adequate lengths and suitably graded. The Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) in the United Kingdom, emphasizes that there are many prospects for tropical hardwoods to be used in this way. The main problem is marketing and one facet of this is the apparent non-availability of suitable tropical woods graded on a structural basis.
While there seems to be general agreement on the desirability of the widely spread international application of stress-grading for hardwoods as well, voices are also heard in technical meetings which express reservations as to the speed at which stress grading can be practically introduced. European import trade representatives expressed the view that visual stress grading is difficult to apply as it requires special skills and is too expensive; also equipment for mechanical stress grading is too expensive to be run by individual importers and dealers. Consequently, the need is emphasized for concentration of stress-grading in the production areas. There, however, all concerned are confronted with the fact that building codes in the various prospective consuming countries are not the same and a considerable amount of work is needed to harmonize coding systems to the extent that stress graded hardwoods can be more widely used.
Dimensional standardization has in recent years received a good deal of attention. The advantages of international dimensional standards are more clearly understood since trade in tropical hardwoods has also gained wider international importance; a single standard would reduce diversity of timber sizes and enable the industry to economize in production costs and rationalize marketing arrangements. Furthermore, it would simplify and rationalize stocking and, last but not least, it would greatly facilitate the more immediate and economic application. In view of the trend towards greater commercial conformity the many and diverse nominal sizes and measurement practices for sawnwood in general are obviously illogical and undesirable.
For about ten years two factors have made themselves increasingly felt as a driving force behind dimensional standardization - packaging and metrication. The trend towards packaging of sawnwood for shipment has made it essential to reduce variety. The great progress made in packaging has been strongly influenced by rather rapid changes in cargo handling and storage in the shipping field.
Metrication is not yet applied everywhere, but most tropical timber producing countries - with the probable exception of one or two countries - are making notable efforts. Generally, the deterring factors for immediate implementation are that some major import markets still specify in the inch/feet system, and that processing equipment is till tooled in this system. In the importing countries involved in changing to the metric system problems also arose. In the United Kingdom the trade is still faced with a large proportion of their sales going to industries and other consumers which have not yet accepted the metre. In several countries some kind of vicious circle might arise unless swift action is taken to bring other sectors of the economy as well to a point where they can switch over faster. Ghanaian sources indicated that from September 1975 onwards the metric system will be fully applied. In the United States the NHLA Rules Committee has set up a metric task force to convert the rule book to the metric system. Also the International Technical Tropical Timber Association (ATIBT) has been actively engaged in promoting the metric system in the tropical timber trade. The formulation of related national and international standards has been paid due attention by the respective standard organizations and the machinery to obtain agreement or acceptance by all parties concerned has been put into motion. Continuous contact with the International Standards Organization (ISO) enables FAO to follow through and support standardization activities, and to be informed of the actual position of standards under preparation.
In this context it is interesting to note that as an example of FAO's involvement in standardization work the World Consultation on Wood-based Panels, held in New Delhi in 1975 recognized the urgent need to rationalize the existing range of standards for the different type of board materials so that the increasing production of board products can be employed with confidence by specifiers and designers in both developing and developed countries. Promotion of these developments by FAO with the national and international agencies concerned was urged, and in particular to:
· Collect and collate information on existing standards and grading rules for wood-based panels for dissemination to specialized government agencies, trade associations and standards institutions which have contributed pertinent information.· Continue holding international meetings, seminars and symposia in the field of properties and uses, product research and marketing with the emphasis on supporting the formulation and speeding up the establishment of wood-based panel standards.
From the foregoing the trend towards end-use oriented grading and standardization is clearly emerging as the most important factor for all wood products and particularly those produced from tropical hardwoods for which it has distinct implications.
The bulk of the tropical broadleaved sawnwood is at present - as in the past graded in accordance with the cutting system, which implies that the timber is usually resawn to smaller sizes before use. Changing from sawnwood to marketing another more processed product, inevitably means the application of different marketing practices. The problem really is how the semi-processed product can be more readily integrated into the respective stages of the customers' production lines, or the finished one into final application. It is obvious that standardization is playing an important role in overcoming technical obstacles of this kind. In the wider context some other points need to be taken into account, as tropical forest products normally have to be transported over long distances normally under adverse climatic conditions before they arrive in the consuming country. Although the timing of delivery needs special attention, generally problems prevail which are related to product specification and standardization, dimensional accuracy, tolerances, moisture content, and quality control, and to the type of quality and packaging. Experience obtained from the still rather limited international trade of processed sawnwood products suggests that practices would have to be much more exacting, particularly as far as international rules or standards are concerned.
Effective quality control in all stages of processing and marketing tropical wood products is an essential prerequisite for reliable and consistent performance of standards and grading rules. The degree of processing is indicative of the complexity of industrial quality control. In the Philippines, for instance, an integrated quality-control system has been introduced in the industry, and initially with the plywood manufacturing plants since 1970. Assistance of the Philippines Forest Products Research and Industries Development Commission (FORPRIDECOM) Los Baños has been instrumental in implementation through workshop seminars of the application of quality-control techniques and plant-to-plant follow-up on how such techniques are being applied.
An integrated system requires the allocation of raw materials of corresponding grades and volume, control of the different phases of manufacture to ensure high quality level at each stage, inspection of final products at - the end of the manufacturing line, taking into account the type and frequency of product defects grading and sorting for grades, sampling for strength and other property specifications, soundness of packaging, labelling and warehousing. Analysis of the technical data from the above steps would provide management and marketing with the necessary information that the manufacturing process is under control and the products are within the standards and/or the buyer's specifications. The existence of quality control is more or less confined to the larger firms so that more promotional efforts are essential for the small scale industries which are anticipated to welcome a modified or simpler system, considering their size of operation and financial capabilities.
In several countries the quality control of export timber is exercised by government agencies as is the case of Malaysia where the Forestry Department has this responsibility, including the training of graders. Successful candidates are awarded certificates of competence which are valid for only six months and renewed on production of proof of the holder of the certificate being actively engaged in grading. Timber graded by the graders is subject to a percentage check (usually 10 percent) by timber inspectors employed by the grading authority.
The grading authority ensures that specifications are complied with and are consonant with the MGR, and that all graded timber has appropriate identification marks. Grading or inspection certificate are issued by the Grading Authority which charges a nominal fee for its services.
Since the problem of lesser-used wood species has been - and still is - of the utmost concern to tropical forest countries promotional efforts have centred on the market introduction of these species. Recently increasing attention is also being given to product development and diversification often in combination with the promotion of lesser-used species. These combined aspects are expected to receive even more impetus in future since in many producing countries the proportion of log exports is still very high and more roundwood will have to be processed locally in order to derive optimum advantage from the added value attained through the marketing of a wider range of processed products.
TABLE TOP FINISHED AT PHILIPPINES FOREST PRODUCTS RESEARCH INSTITUTE selling the grain
It is not intended here to review the existing marketing institutions and trade associations or to describe their functions and methods of work. Special efforts are being made by FAO to study existing institutions, starting with a Directory of Marketing Institutions and Trade Associations concerned with tropical wood products. Functions and working methods of these institutions may vary considerably in each individual case. There are many reasons for such variations, the more important ones being differences in wood availability, market sizes, domestic or export market orientation, or different marketing practices and channels for individual products, and, as is basic in the marketing of tropical wood, the large variety of wood species with different properties. We are not taking up here the important aspect of trade incentives and obstacles such as quarantine and tax regulations. These are subjects which must be investigated and taken into consideration in the light of the particular circumstances governing individual promotional requirements.
Promotional activities - whether undertaken by individual enterprises, associations, marketing boards, regional bodies or international agencies - have by tradition been carried out in close collaboration with, and sometimes directly by, technical centres and research institutes. Attractive publications and leaflets have been inssued which provide technical and commercial information on wood species available for export. Examples of such publications are Ghana Hardwoods by the Ghana Timber Marketing Board, Accra; Bois de Côte-d'Ivoire by the Syndicat des producteurs forestiers de Côte-d'Ivoire, Abidjan; General Nomenclature for Tropical Timber by the Association technique internationale des bois tropicaux (ATIBT), Nogent-sur-Marne; Maderas Colombianas by the Fondo de Promoción de Exportaciones, Bogota, and Timbers of the Solomon Islands by the United Africa Co. (Timber) Ltd. (UACO), London.
Another step further in the direction of giving specific advice and guidance on the application of timbers is represented by publications such as the Guide to the use of West African hardwoods for structural purposes prepared by UACO in association with the Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) of the United Kingdom. But publications in this category which are directed to specific users are relatively scarce. It is obvious that more practical guidance - in the form of specific technical literature, technical courses demonstrations etc. - and the establishment or strengthening of appropriate institutions with extension services, is required.
In this context attention is drawn to the fact that the average density of wood in tropical forests is substantially higher than in temperate forests, where conifers prevail, which supply the bulk of utility and construction timbers. Therefore increased efforts should be made in tropical forest countries to develop new or to adapt existing techniques in applying higher density broadleaved timbers for traditional coniferous timber uses.
Five Latin American countries, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia as members of the Andean Pact Commission are combining in a major effort to make more effective use in the local construction industry of the vast resources of the tropical rain forests in the Andes region. The proposed cooperative research supported by the Canadian International Development Research Centre includes investigating the technical properties of about 100 wood species. This effort is part of a regional strategy for the creation of a science and technology programme that would stimulate economic and social development.
Because of the large variety of wood species (e.g., more than 100 Shorea spp.) the Southeast Asian countries have traditionally centred their common interest on commercial grouping, nomenclature and standardization of terminology etc., and the exchange of experience and research results. These activities culminated in the International Symposium on Research and Marketing of Southeast Asian Timbers and Timber Products, held in Manila and Los Baños, Philippines, in November 1974. The last events were the preparation of a Master List of Asian Timbers carried out by the Forestry Research Institute, Malaysia, pursuant to recommendation of the First Technical Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and based on data provided by the Forest Services of Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. This master list constitutes an essential basis not only for direct promotional action but is also of general significance for considerations to improve present grouping systems aimed at optimizing commercial practices. End-Use Survey of Wood Products, published by ASEAN is another recent and useful publication.
Any consideration of promotional activities in favour of tropical wood would be incomplete without mentioning the many efforts made on the level of individual enterprises at both the producing and the consuming ends. These efforts have contributed substantially to the market introduction of tropical timbers and will no doubt also in future be an essential driving force not only behind commercial transactions but also behind improved application of tropical wood products. Frequently the most valuable experience gained by individual enterprises is not readily available to other parties interested in promoting tropical timber products. Trade associations, marketing boards and similar bodies could play a more important role in popularizing successful promotional methods between their members and could communicate more actively with respective organizations outside their countries. Common interests in the promotional held have inter alia been the reason for establishing joint regional activities such as the African Timber Organizacion (ATO) and the Southeast Asian Lumber Producers Association (SEALPA). It would go beyond the limited context of this paper to comment on regional groupings of this kind. There is no doubt, however, that they will in future exercise strong impetus in the advancement of promotional action.
On the international level it can be expected that FAO and the International Trade Centre of UNCTAD/GATT in collaboration with other specialized organizations and institutions will further strengthen their support to national, regional and international activities and initiatives in favour of expanding trade and of improving the use and marketing of tropical wood products.
Summarizing the foregoing, the promotion of tropical wood, which has so far been related essentially to individual, or groups of, wood species will in future be related more and more to processed wood products. The more tropical woods are used in the form of, or in combination with, chips and fibres or as composite and utility-type wood products - thus increasingly losing their original identity as "tropical" wood - the more will the traditional concept of tropical wood promotion become orientated towards market acceptance and use performance of processed products. This orientation, which is closely linked with the industrial and resource development process, does not imply that the concept of optimizing wood values and using tropical woods to their best advantage should be given up. On the contrary, the specific and outstanding properties and the beauty and decorative value of so many tropical timbers will no doubt also in the future be a significant driving force behind the popularization of processed tropical wood products which should be duly taken into account when developing concepts and programmes for promotional action.
