Efficient marketing in the forestry sector requires personnel with specialized capabilities able to cope with products originating from nature-based raw material resources and markets, mostly in further processing industries. The wide range of products for which the forests provide raw material, both wood and non-wood, sets additional requirements for forest products marketing specialists. These specialists also have to have a good basic understanding of the various processing technologies which the supplying and customer industries are using. Universities with forestry faculties in many countries are showing increasing interest in strengthening education in forest products marketing in order to be able to offer opportunities for students to acquire knowledge and skills in this important discipline and provide the forestry sector with well-trained forest products marketing specialists.
FAO, through its Forest Products Marketing Programme, supports, among other things, the development of educational programmes in forest products marketing by conducting relevant training needs surveys. Several such surveys have been done in various developing regions, forming a basis for the development and strengthening of forest products marketing training programmes.
The "Assessment of the Needs for Marketing Training in the Forestry Sector in Chile" was carried out to further develop the methodologies for such studies, and to particularly provide forestry faculties in Chilean universities with a solid basis for further development of their forest products marketing programmes.
The "Assessment of the Needs for Marketing Training in the Forestry Sector in Chile" was implemented under a contract with FAO by the Center for Forest Products Marketing and Management of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia, United States of America, which collaborated with the University of Bío-Bío, Conception, Chile.
FAO would like to record its appreciation to the above institutions for their contributions to the success of the work. Specific thanks go to Dr Robert J. Bush and Dr Robert L. Smith from the Center for Forest Products Marketing and Management of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and, through them, to Dr Aldo Ballerini from the University of Bío-Bío who together did the research work.
Appreciation is also recorded for the final editing of the report for printing by Ms Gina Phillips, Secretary, and Ms Elisa Rubini, Secretary, and the supervision of the study project by Mr Leo Lintu, Senior Forestry Officer, Forest Products Division, FAO.
The survey provides a model and a methodology, which hopefully will be found useful for carrying out similar assessments in other countries. Finally, it is encouraging to note that there already exists a solid relationship between the two academic institutions involved in this survey for the implementation of the survey results.
Wulf Killmann
Director
Forest Products Division