Overview of timber demand and supply on Leyte Island, The Philippines

This paper presents findings from research into the timber demand and supply chain on Leyte Island, the Philippines, based on surveys of tree farmers and timber merchants registered with the DENR 8 office. Most of the farmer-respondents grow gmelina and mahogany on their farms. Other trees species grown include the exotics of mangium, auri and ipil-ipil, and the indigenous species of molave, narra, antipolo, bagras and toog. The mean estimated stumpage volume available from an average tree farm for the areas covered by the study was 597.38 m3 over an area of 2.05 ha. Sixteen out of the 39 farmers interviewed had commenced harvesting their trees. Seven lumber dealers and timber processors were also interviewed in the study. On the average, they have been in business for 14.3 years. Most procured their raw materials from sources outside Leyte, particularly Mindanao and Cebu, only two sourcing their raw materials within Leyte provinces. Tree species that they had commonly processed included gmelina and lauan. The total stock requirement of the seven respondent dealers/processors is about 724,000 bd ft per year