Información sobre el proyecto/actividad

Legality requirements and timber procurement policies are being introduced in many countries. These requirements and policies are principally aimed at addressing public concerns about the legal and environmental credentials of products. Many purchasers are demanding that products should come from sustainable, or at least legal, sources and that this be verifiable in order to maintain credibility with buyers in the market place.

These requirements and policies have significant implications for tropical timber suppliers. As developments are occurring at a rapid rate, there is an urgent need for tropical wood product exporters to monitor these developments, assess their ability to meet these requirements which are being widely adopted, and explore the market implications and opportunities presented by these developments.

This proposal aims to analyze the economic impact of governmental procurement policies on tropical timber markets, update the developments on legality requirements and timber procurement policies and assess market implications and opportunities for ITTO producers and consumers. Corollary to this objective, the main outputs of this small project proposal are:

• Update of the ITTO Study “The Pros and Cons of Procurement”, published as Technical Series 34 in April 2010;
• Comprehensive analysis of the impacts of procurement policies on markets and trade, taking into consideration their relevant effects on demand, supply, costs, prices as well as financial implications for exporting countries;
• Examination of the challenges faced by producer and consumer members in complying with and implementing procurement requirements;
• Recommendations for further action by ITTO to promote trade in tropical timber in the context of procurement policies.