The first Race Wood – a project developed from the PRO€INVEST programme for the promotion of investments in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries – was held in Libreville in 2004.
Then 40 companies from eight central African countries met with 35 European operators from 11 countries who were looking for new legal and sustainable timber supply sources.
The organisers said that worldwide demand for tropical hardwoods now exceeds the supply possibilities of Asia, Africa and South America combined.
The problem has been exacerbated by the crackdown on illegal logging in Indonesia and Brazil which has reduced the availability of raw materials, and it is believed the same will soon be true for the Russian softwood market.
And, the organisers said, a number of tropical timber products that have become European industry standards are now in short supply, with the effects felt throughout the industry.
Race Wood will give European timber importers the opportunity to develop ties with at least 50 African timber producers, while the African producers can use the event as a platform for developing downstream products.
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