Charcoal industry doesn’t want businesses to burn their own interests
Vientiane province has established a charcoal producers group to manage and regulate industry operators, and eliminate price fixing and the unsustainable logging of timber.
An industry wide meeting was held in the province last week, and the heads and advisors of the new group were appointed by provincial Industry and Commerce Department Director Mr Phouvieng Sipasert.
The group will be responsible for all the charcoal that is produced in the region, including both black and white charcoal. (White charcoal burns at a higher temperature and is in high demand, especially overseas.)
The meeting was told that some charcoal producers are operating legally in line with the province’s regulations but others are not, especially in Hinheup and Phonhong districts, group head Mr Khammoun Keoviphone said.
Vientiane province currently has 515 charcoal kilns which require around 154,500 cubic metres of wood to produce their current output, but only 214 kilns operate as authorised.
Quantifying exactly how much wood is burnt and where it comes from is hard to police, Mr Khammoun said, and they need to establish whether the wood being cut exceeds the quota set by provincial authorities.
There is also the issue of people cutting trees in natural or protected forests which, due to its clandestine nature, goes on in a completely unregulated manner.
Mr Khammoun said unscrupulous traders would end up hurting the whole industry, because irresponsible resource management and a failure to replant trees would result in long term shortages of timber, which would hurt both the industry and the environment.
In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the industry body plans to encourage charcoal producers to make around 1,450 tonnes of the staple fuel. Some of the hotter white charcoal will be exported to Japan and Korea, he said, where it will fetch higher prices.
To reach the target, the group will promote the planting of mai tiew and other tree species under the 2+3 system. This system arranges for timber companies to give farmers saplings to plant and the harvested wood is later sold to the company, Mr Khammoun said.
The province has previously grown trees under this system, planting 188,000 saplings on 80 hectares in Hinheup and Phonhong districts.
The group hopes to cooperate with the relevant sectors, particularly the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department, and work with district and village authorities to encourage the planting of mai tiew and other trees.
In previous years, the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department has approved a quota of 22,000 cubic metres of wood for charcoal producers to harvest, of which 12,000 cubic metres is mai tiew.
But the demand for white charcoal is high, with Japan, Korea and Vietnam consuming large amounts of the commodity. With export demand exceeding 300 tonnes a day, it is estimated that at least 49,000 cubic metres of mai tiew is cut beyond the quota.
Mr Khammoun said it was the responsibility of all charcoal producers to abide by quotas and regulations and protect the natural environment, and promised that the industry group would work for the best interests of its members to see that this happened.
