THE REAL WOOD GUIDE TIMBER PRODUCTS FURTHER PROCESSED PRODUCTS The first stage in a developing country's timber export activities is the shipment of logs. The next step is to reduce the log to sawn timber. Further developments include veneer production either in sliced form for decorative overlays or as rotary peeled veneer for panel products like plywood and blockboard. Kiln drying sawn timber makes it more suitable for manufacture into furniture and joinery and allows mills to consider moving from rough sawn wood to planed and machined stock in the form of mouldings and simple profiled boards. Ultimately the developing nations would like to make finished goods of wood for export and seek to move in this direction by making blanks (pieces of wood close to the final sizes required for a particular end use) and ready-to-assemble components. Developing nations are in different stages along this path. More and more of them are taking steps to push their timber sectors into more refined forms of processing. The developed nations have strong technical and managerial experience in the production of finished wood goods like furniture and joinery, which require very accurate cutting and jointing. In the developing world the forested countries are anxious to extend their wood industries into what is known as added value production. It promises more jobs, and the opportunity to develop new production skills and managerial abilities. It is believed that it will make more efficient use of the raw material and will earn more hard currency for the producer nation. It may also lessen reliance on exporting large volumes of lower priced material in favour of greater returns on smaller volumes of more finished goods and thus offer the opportunity to conserve forest resources. It may also allow producer countries to bring into production some of the less favoured species in their forests. Sales of tropical logs and sawn timber are by species. When finished products are made, it is the performance of the product which predominates, and whilst the species remains an important element, it is not so decisive. Enthusiasm for exporting more finished goods from tropical countries has to be modified to a considerable extent by the problems of making goods to the precise needs of the importing nation, which calls in many cases for careful drying down to low moisture contents, very accurate cutting and shaping, and packaging to ensure arrival in distant markets in acceptable quality. Shipping components or ready-to-assemble units also demands high degrees of manufacturing ability. The international timber distribution channels are accustomed to more general specifications which enable them to meet the needs of a wide variety of end users. The timber importer can absorb variations in delivery time and is accustomed to international financing, whereas manufacturers in importing countries may expect more in terms of time to pay, and delivery precisely when they want goods. The producer countries are sometimes in the position of wanting to conquer very demanding overseas markets without a local market in which to gain market experience and to give them a firmer commercial base from which to push more confidently into exports. Skilled management has to be imported and investment encouraged. If a nation has a small or scattered population, it will be more difficult to develop complementary roles for the local market and product development for export. The goal of increasing the industrial base of its forest sector may encourage governments to ensure that permanent forest estates are firmly promulgated so that investors can be sure of long term forest resources on which to base substantial capital commitment with confidence and with a view to longer term product and business development. To create market openings is difficult but progress is being made. Countries like Malaysia have over the years created markets for more finished products, in addition to sales of sawn wood and panel products. Indonesia has taken special steps to discourage sawn wood exports to step up the pace of industrialisation. Country after country is phasing out log exports. This drive towards added value represents one way of safeguarding productive forests in the longer term and at the same time promises better pay, more jobs and improved living standards to people in the developing world. It is another reason why trying to force tropical forest protection by banning imports is inappropriate. Next Section: 'Timber Treatments'