Survey of timber entrepreneurs in region 8 and Cebu, The Philippines: Preliminary findings

The lack of information by smallholders about market opportunities and the timber product requirements of buyers may be a major impediment to development of formal or regular timber markets. Anecdotal evidence suggests that growers fare poorly in terms of prices obtained under current arrangements, with consequent inadequate market signals to encourage tree planting. This paper presents preliminary results of a survey conducted to investigate the status and prospects of timber enterprises in Leyte and Cebu in the Philippines. The operators were interviewed in 51 timber enterprises, of which 34 are registered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The majority (74%) of the enterprises were engaged in retailing sawn timber. About 58% obtained some or 61% obtained timber from timber merchants while 33% directly from tree growers. Respondents identified proper plantation management as one of the measures to improve the quality of timber from smallholder tree farmers. The present forest policies, support from the government, low quality of timber and insufficient supply of timber were nominated as problems experienced by the respondents