Stakeholder faults lifting of ban on charcoal

The Wood and Wood/Furniture group, under the auspices of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has described the recent lifting of ban on wood and charcoal by the Federal Government as anti-manufacturing, saying “it will aggravate the depletion of the forestry reserves.”

The lifting of ban on wood and charcoal for export was announced recently by the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Muhammed Abdullahi.

In a communiqué signed by the Chairman of Wood/Furniture group, MAN, Mrs. Ngozi Oyewole, the group affirmed that the ban would further aggravate the depletion of the forestry reserves thus compounding the deforestation situation and climate crisis in the country.

They also stated that the ban will lead to supply shortages in wood and allied products as well as result in sharp and astronomical price increases in wood and wood based products.

In addition, the group noted that the cost of production would further increase, thereby multiplying operating challenges for manufacturers and leading to business closure in the wood manufacturing sector.

The group, therefore, advocated the introduction of policy on wood, where only locally semi processed wood could be exported, adding that such would attract higher foreign inflow.

The communiqué read: “Government should create the enabling environment for new technology adoption in the wood processing industry.

“There should be establishment of technical institute which will be solely dedicated to wood and allied products to train and equip human capital for the expansive wood industry.

“Revamping of the tree planting policy of government to mitigate and counter balance the effect of continuous forest degradation.

“Government to create the enablers and incentives to encourage private sector and individuals participation in establishing tree plantations’’.