French Guiana was present at the International Timber Fair. Nantes, France, 28-29 May 1998

Abstract

This was the first time that the French Guiana timber industry had participated in this event, which has been organised for the past five years by the Port Atlantique Nantes-St.-Nazaire and Atlanbois, and has become a prime venue for European timber suppliers and processors to exchange ideas. This promotional initiative was made possible thanks to the Union of Forest Operators and Sawmillers of French Guiana  (Syndicat des Exploitants forestiers et Scieurs de Guyane, S.E.F.S.G.) and the Consulting in Forest Management and Timber Utilisation  (Conseil en Aménagement forestier et Utilisation des Bois, Groupement Silvolab-GUYANE), with technical support from CIRAD-Forêt. On the fringes of the major global timber flows, French Guiana is ignored by most importers. However, it exports a quarter of its sawn timber production to its natural catchment area: the French West Indies. With the infrastructure in place and the know-how available, it now needs to move into other trading areas, particularly mainland France and Europe. Other objectives include highlighting the specific characteristics of the local timber industry, promoting the available species and their technological characteristics, as well as semi-finished products (parquet flooring, roof structures) and innovative products that use new species for new markets (wapa shingles, softwood mouldings).