According to latest report gathered by The Ply Reporter, there are more than 50 peeling machines in an operational state in Gabon now being operated by a dozen of Indian entrepreneurs. Gabon has emerged as a most important and the fast-growing destination with an aim to fulfill the face veneer requirements for Indian plywood units. The infrastructure and timber resource situation at Gabon is said to be favorable due to sustainable timber availability and government proactive support. Industries are confident that after hard times faced in Myanmar and Laos, Gabon is capable to feed commercial face veneers to Indian plywood at genuine and affordable pricing for the long term.
At present Gabon origin face veneer made of Okume specie is selling quickly and more than 100 containers are believed to be on way. The Okume face is gradually being accepted by the Indian market hence the scenario of demand growth and supply from Gabon is set to rise considerably. Economical grade Plywood Producers feel that Okume based face veneers sourced from Gabon are suiting to price and needs and hope that the prices remain stable.
Plywood manufacturing units in India are dependent on import for raw material from forest-rich countries, mainly, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and West Central African countries. Given some regulatory changes in forestry sector by Government of Myanmar and Government of Laos, the supply of face veneers in India is severely impacted. Further, two of the four West Central African countries supplying raw material to Asia have also banned the export of round logs and the other two are also expected to announce a ban in next two to three years. As a result, the supply of round logs and the intermediate products (mainly, face veneer) to India from these countries is constrained and Indian plywood manufacturers are hoping the face veneers imported from Gabon is perfect destination.
Recently, India’s leading plywood manufacturer, Greenply has started its operation in Gabon. Besides, other 10 – 11 Indian owned units are also producing face veneers. The official from GSEZ confirms that 12 units are started production and 3 – 4 units are going to start face veneer peeling very shortly. They expect, 20 units with more than 80 peeling machines may start commercial production by end of this year.