Angola expects to earn nearly US$72 million from the export of about 120,000 cubic metres of sawn wood, the republic’s Institute for Forestry Development (IDF) has said.
A cubic metre of wood is sold on average for US$550 in the international market, while illegal loggers in the country sell the same amount for around 35,000 kwanzas (US$63).
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries intends to grant five concessions for forest exploitation and complete the construction of warehouses for forest products.
A digital system for issuing licences for forest exploration and pre-licensing for the export of products, promoting and controlling licensing of forest exploration and updating reference prices for the export of sawn timber is due to be put into operation shortly.
The promotion and strengthening of the ministry’s technical, material and financial capacity concerning the forestation and reforestation programme to encourage the production of two million seedlings of various forest species throughout the country, is among the tasks to be performed, the IDF said.
