Forest Products Trade

Many SADC countries are part of the global trade network, importing and exporting wood and NWFP, basically driven by demand from Europe and Asia. Intra-regional trade is low primarily due to lack of information on markets, poor transport infrastructure and trade barriers. The bulk of forest products particularly from natural forests are either unprocessed or primarily processed. High value-added products constitute the bulk of the import bill while the low value primarily processed products dominate the export market.

Due to their limited forest resources and high per capita incomes, Mauritius, Botswana and South Africa are major importers in the region. The former two have also adopted a strategy of importing low value-added products and exporting high value-added products, which result in net trade surpluses.

Nearly 1 million hectares of industrial plantations have been certified in order to increase access to European markets. Interest in certifying natural forests has been low and only a few forest blocks have so far been certified in Zimbabwe through private initiative.