Good move.

These foreign thieves are shipping the wood abroad for processing so that they don't have to employ many Guyanese folks in desperate need of a job. It is time they find out that some Guyanese are ready to sort them out if things don't improve.

I agree, maybe capital is an issue.  The Govt needs to understand their business imperative before making demands.  I'm sure there are things the Govt could do to incentivize added-value in Guyana.  But let's give them a chance to present the case for or against.

Kudos to Trotman.

Granger, Trotman and Roopnarine are the best minds in APNU. The rest can go sell fish at the Market.

"Both have been spoken to already. Both have government a commitment that within a matter of months they will be addressing the value-added concern. I expect that before the end of the year the nation will start to see value added products being produced by those two companies." Trotman said that if they failed to honor their commitments this time around their contract" will be reviewed for termination."

If they fail or seek extensions as I expect they will given their practices elsewhere there should be no investigations to review contracts. They should be summarily booted out.

It takes more than 4 months to set up  a wood processing plant. They made Trotman a fool.

Whatever they plan to make, curing the wood takes years.

Once again a government of Guyana is lacking in Business Knowledge.

They would never agree to prepping Wamara or Bulletwood since it would immediately expose how much we are being robbed. They will always seek exemptions on the hardwoods on one pretext or another and any facilities they build here would be for plywood and other compressed materials as their idea of finished products. They will never build kilns here necessary to reduce the woods to 6 or 8 percent moisture content that can be used in building fine furniture. They will continue to ship choice woods and try to skim by through placating the regulators with some facilities to make plywood. We need to make it clear in no uncertain terms that no unfinished lumber will ever leave our shores.Further, all hardwoods is to exit through one processing facility

So does the wood magically cure en route to India or China?

We need to find out their justification for shipping raw timber and processing it there. We should not prejudge as businesses will make decisions which are most profitable.  Sometimes the "apparent" is not what it seems to the simple minded.

Fool, your hate is overwhelming.

My guess, the logs are not processed right away-stockpiled. Alibaba, now sells logs as a commodity. 

Producing consumer goods for the West takes alot of skills and mechanization.

Guyana is not equipped for such large scale ventures-at this time. Our governments have never grasped the reality of it. They talk of value added, but they really doan know what is involved. And how the Chinese go about it.

The current government should undertake an effort to promote at the local level value added processes. Develop Guyanese. 

stop your prancing nonsense fool. . . local processing is part of the AGREEMENT, not an option!

Just mere words. No substance. Sey anything a fool would like to hear.

We need to do no such thing.  If they want to destroy our rainforest and leave pennies behind, then they need to go elsewhere.  As is Guyana is getting scant benefit from these predators, who also exploit their Guyanese employees.

Some one needs to tell the Chinese that slavery in Guyana ended in 1838.

Countries only develop when they have value added production.  Processing allows more employment in Guyana, and a more valuable export product.

Baseman, gold prices are dropping, and now the failure of the PPP to diversify the economy, and develop more value added is becoming evident.  But you will blame black people for that.

Let us take wood products. If house hold furnishings are manufactured. Who will sell it and who would buy it. We talking about mass production. Do Guyanese Foreign based buys Guyanese products.

Seignet, I am no expert on this, but I know there is a world market for finely made wood products, especially from purple heart etc. Furniture, carvings, etc. are all in demand and they are not cheap in developed countries.

Why do we not help encourage local craftsmen to form businesses and create products for these markets? Guyanese have always been good at wood work and carpentry. The government's role would be to find markets for our products. They need to set up a framework for local woodworking businesses to connect with businesses in developed countries that carry these types of products. 

We cannot rely solely on overseas Guyanese and kanta Guyanese for this market. We have to learn to take our products directly to the markets of developed nations. I don't know if you get the jist of what I'm saying.

Tropical trees aren't like the pine forests of North America.  When trees are cut down it takes a long time to be replaced.  These trees are valuable, which is why the Chinese and Indians are targeting.  This isn't cheap wood.

So if Guyana cannot find high value uses, leave them in the ground until we do.  And in fact I am sure that we can do this, if we think about it.

Yes that is PPP thinking.  When they market Guyanese products and services in NY they confined it to Richmond Hill.

Tropical woods are in high demand for all sorts of design purposes, but these PPP clowns would rather the Chinese make the money from processing the wood in China for further export to the USA.

There is a whole architect/design community in NYC.  Has any one approached them?