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SYNOPSIS
FOREST RESOURCES
The estimated total land area of the Philippines was classified in 2003, as follows: classified forestland (14.766 million hectares), unclassified forestland (1.089 million hectares) and alienable and disposable lands (14.145 million hectares). Of the total classified forestland, established timberland and established forest reserves had large areas at 10.228 million hectares (69.27%) and 3.273 million hectares (22.17%), respectively. Other classified forestlands were: national parks, game refuge and bird sanctuaries and wilderness areas (0.893 million hectares), military and naval reservations (0.130 million hectares), civil reservation (0.166 million hectares) and fishponds (0.076 million hectares).
The forest cover estimate in 2003 is a result of the joint undertaking of the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) using the 2001-2003 satellite imageries. The total forest cover of the Philippines in 2003 was recorded at 7.168 million hectares or 24.27 percent of the country’s total land area. This is 0.707 million hectares or 10.94 percent higher than the 1988 actual forest resources inventory record of 6.461 million hectares. The increase is mainly attributed to the vigorous reforestation program involving the government and private sectors particularly its development of industrial forest plantations and management of natural forest areas within CBFM, SIFMA, PFDA and other reforestation initiatives. The ability of forest to naturally regenerate contributed largely to the forest cover increase. Of the total forest cover, open forest accounted for more than half at 4.031 million hectares. The rest of the forest types contributed to the total as follows: closed forest with 35.71 percent, plantation forest with 4.60 percent and mangrove natural forest with 3.45 percent.
Meanwhile, the total number of watershed forest reserves of the country in 2004 was recorded at 125 and covered an area equal to 1.499 million hectares. The region with the most number of watershed forest reserves was Region 3 at a count of 23 and area of 0.280 million hectares. On one hand, ARMM and Region 12 had the least number of watershed forest reserves at a count of two. These regions, however, posted the second and third largest areas at 0.182 million hectares and 0.169 million hectares, respectively. Region 1 had the smallest number at 10 with area at 6,167 hectares.
FORESTRY ACTIVITIES
There were 5,503 Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) projects in 2003. These covered an area of 5.970 million hectares, however, only 4.904 million hectares or 82.16 percent were covered by specific tenure instrument. A total of 2,877 People’s Organization (POs) were involved in these projects, while 690,691 households benefited from it.
In 2004, both government and non-government sectors reforested a total of 20,338 hectares of land, which was higher than that of the previous year’s accomplishment by 34.80 percent. The government sector, solely through the DENR, contributed a total of 12,436 hectares (61.15%), while the non-government sector shared the remaining 7,902 hectares (38.85%). Holders of tenurial instruments such as IFMA/SIFMA/CBFMA/TFLA/PLA/ITPLA and TLA representing the non-government sector reforested 7,267 hectares or 91.96%. Among regions, Region 11 reported the largest area reforested at 4,993 hectares (24.55 %), and closely followed by Region 13 at 4,080 hectares (20.06%). The region with the least area reforested was the National Capital Region at 19 hectares (0.09 %).
FOREST RESOURCES UTILIZATION
Licenses, Leases and Permits
As of December 2004, a total of 15 Timber License Agreements was in operation in the country. Of this total, 14 concessionaires were active covering an aggregate area of 566,589 hectares with an annual allowable cut of 176,749 cubic meters. Nine (9) of these active licensees were located in Mindanao, five (5) of which were in CARAGA region.
During the year, the total number of IFMA and ITPLA holders decreased to 192 with a total combined area of 710,307 hectares. Tree Farm and Agro forestry Farm Leases also decreased to 235 covering 113,750 hectares.
As of December 2004, there were 1,660 Socialized Industrial Forest Management Agreements (SIFMA) issued with an aggregate area of 42,871 hectares. Private Forest Development Agreements (PFDA) totaled 91 with corresponding area of 4,912 hectares.
The number of Forest Land Grazing Lease Agreements (FLGLA) and permits totaled to 399 with a combined area of 111,826 hectares at the end of the year. Most of these grazing leases were located in Regions CAR, 2, 4-B, and 5.
There were 47 rattan cutting contracts covering an aggregate area of 316 thousand hectares with allowable cut of 22.2 million linear meters.
The total number of existing plywood plants in the country was 32 with a daily rated capacity of 2,809 cubic meters while the existing veneer plants numbered 20 with a daily rated capacity of 1,395 cubic meters.
There were 53 regular sawmills existing nationwide with a daily rated capacity of 2,354 cubic meters and annual log requirement of 858 thousand cubic meters. Of these regular sawmills, only thirty-six (36) were active with a daily rated capacity of 1,645 cubic meters and annual log requirement of 598,914 cubic meters. Eleven (11) of these active sawmills sourced their log supply from their own timber concessions.
Production
The volume of logs produced during the year reached 767,668 cubic meters which is 52 % higher than last year’s production. Of this total, 72 % or 551 thousand cubic meters were planted logs while the remaining 28% came from natural forests. Log production from private plantations increased to 299 thousand cubic meters, a notable rise by 72 percent compared to last year’s figures. Logs produced by CBFMA and IFMA holders also registered increases by 74 % and 40 %, respectively. IFMA holders contributed 353 thousand cubic meters while CBFMA shared 39 thousand cubic meters to this year’s total log production. TLA’s production increased by 25 % with 51 thousand cubic meters. CARAGA region still got the biggest share of this year’s production with 61 percent.
Production of processed wood products such as lumber, plywood and veneer increased slightly compared in 2003. Lumber production posted an increase of 38 % with 339 thousand cubic meters. Veneer production also posted an increment of 15% with 385 thousand cubic meters. Plywood production totaled 379 thousand cubic, an 8% increase compared to last year’s record.
Non-timber forest products with significant production during the year were: almaciga resin, anahaw leaves, anahaw poles, split rattan and unsplit rattan. However, production of bamboo poles, diliman and nipa shingles showed negative growth rates.
PRICES
Timber
In 2004, the Philippine Mahogany Group (Red Lauan, tanguile, tiaong, almon, bagtikan, mayapis) 60 cm and above in diameter of sawlog grade commanded an average domestic price of P6,000 per cubic meter. Over the past 5 years, the price trend of this particular group of species tends to increase. With reference to the price in 2001, the largest sustained rise was 22.5%.
Over the same time period and category, prices of fast-growing species such as falcata, gmelina, and gubas have shown a downward trend. On the average, thirty-five percent (35%) was the largest decrease in their price with reference to the preceding year. Thus, commanding a current price at P1,800 per cubic meter.
Lumber
Lumber of the Philippine Mahogany Group (Lauan, Tangile) species recorded a national average price of P25 per board. The price of locally produced Gmelina lumber ranges from 11 to 23 pesos per board foot. The highest price was recorded in Region 7 while the lowest was in Region 13. Falcata lumber commanded an average price of P9 per board foot. Imported lumber from Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Island and Brazil cost an average price of 24 per board foot.
Wood Panels
Marine Plywood of ½ inch thick posted a national price ranging from P541 to 687 per panel. The lowest price was recorded in CAR while the highest was in Region 4B. While ¼ inch thick, a low of P264 to a high of P331 was placed in Region 7 and in Region 11, respectively. Three-fourth inch thick of marine plywood recorded a price ranging from P794 to 1,098 per panel.
Fuelwood and Charcoal
Both charcoal and fuelwood showed a slight increase in price as compared to the preceding year. A sack of charcoal posted its price as low as P53 per sack in Region 4B and as high as P160 per sack in NCR. Fuelwood, on the other hand, costs P120.00/cu.m. in Region 1 as the lowest and as high as P710.67/cu.m in Region 8. Fuelwood sold in Mindanao was relatively expensive as compared with other regions. While charcoal sold in Mindanao and Visayas was cheaper.
Non-timber Forest Product
The price of a liter of honey was as low as P106 in NCR and as high as P325/liter in Region 7. On the other hand, average price of nipa shingles ranges from P1.50 to 6.47 per piece. Lowest price was placed in Region 2 while highest price was placed in Region 11. Sawali was sold in the local market at national average price of P3.49 per square foot
REVENUES
This year’s government revenues in the form of forest charges summed up to 241 million pesos. The total income collected on roundwood amounted to 229 million pesos with CARAGA contributing 138 million or 60 % of the total revenue while the reported income on non-timber forest products totaled to 12 million pesos.
TRADE
The total value of Philippine exports in 2004 reached US $ 39.68 billion, FOB. About 1.35 % of this was attributed to the exportation of forest products valued at US $ 534.94 million. This amount is 44 % higher than last year’s record. The leading forest-based product export in 2004 in terms of value was forest-based furniture, which posted more than 4 million units at US $ 230 million, FOB. These figures increased by 62 % and 89 %, respectively compared to the 2003 level. This year’s furniture value had a total share of 43.19 % to the total amount of the top ten forest-based products exports. Among the top buyers of our furniture products were the United States, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Japan and Italy. Second in the top ten forest-based products export was other wood-based manufactured articles which earned an amount of US $ 122.28 million, FOB. It contributed 22.94 % to the total value of the ten leading forest-based products. There was a slight decrease in its value by 6.68 % compared to the 2003 level.
Exportation of paper and articles of paper and paperboard placed third consistently during the last three years. During the period in review, more than 136 million net kilos were exported with corresponding earnings of US $ 78.774 million, FOB. This amount comprised 14.78 % of the overall value of top ten forest products exports. Newsprint took 64% of the total paper exports.
In 2004, export of traditional products such as log, lumber, veneer and other wood worked, and plywood and plywood veneered panels exhibited significant increments in volume and value. During the year, the aggregate volume of these four products totaled to 181, 833 cubic meters with a total earnings of US $ 30.75 million, FOB. The export earnings from these products increased by 52.53 % from last year’s value comprising 5.75 % of the total forest products exports. The reason mainly for these significant growths is attributed to the increase in the supply of raw materials coming from the harvest of local timber from the Mindanao provinces. Log export reached a volume of 1,762 m3 at US $ 60 thousand, FOB. Compared to the 2003 data of 18 cubic meters at US $ 1,000, this year’s figures on log exports noted significant growths in both volume and value. Similarly, veneer and other wood worked export increased by 68 % and 36 % in volume and value, respectively posting foreign exchange earnings of US $ 3.25 million, FOB for the volume of 7,493 m3 Plywood and plywood veneered panels volume was noted at 47,731 m3 at US $ 17.70 million, FOB, putting into record a significant increase of 191.63 % in volume and 213.27 % in value. On the other hand, lumber export showed a slight increase of 4.55 % in volume but posted decrease of 1.97 % in value.
At the bottom of the top ten forest-based products exports list was fiberboard which earned a total value of US $ 2.20 million.
During the period in review, the country spent a total amount of US $ 46.10 billion; CIF for it’s over all importation of various commodities. Out of this amount, about 1.49 % was derived from importation of forest products. The total value of imported forest products posted a slight increase of 10.47 % compared to the 2003 record. This is partly due to significant increases in values incurred in the importation of paper and articles of paper and paperboard, pulp and waste paper and forest-based furniture. Paper and articles of paper and paperboard remained consistently on the top of the leading imports of forest-based products comprising about 61 % of the total value of the top forest products imports. It registered a quantity of 594,731,691 net kilos costing US $ 414 million, CIF. During the year, the big suppliers of paper products were Indonesia, Singapore, and People’s Republic of China. Lumber ranked next to paper and paperboard products in the list of leading imports of forest products. However, declines of 27.03 % in volume and 16.13 % in volume were noted for this product. Pulp and waste paper placed third in rank among the top of forest products imports in 2004, unlike during the preceding year where it occupied the bottom of thelist. It posted a quantity of 296,721,455 net kilos at US $ 70.23 million, CIF.
Plywood and plywood veneered panels placed fourth with a total volume of 42,045 m3 at US $ 28. 60 million, CIF. Compared to its past year’s record, plywood and plywood veneered panels posted a slight decrease in volume of 13.41 % and slight increase in value of 0.65%. Log occupied the 7th slot in the list of the top ten forest products imports. Its volume declined by as much as 50.22% and its corresponding value by 46 %. The downward behavior of log importation is correlated with the increase in log production during the period. Local log production exhibited tremendous growth in volume by 52%, boosting supply to meet part of domestic demand. Veneer and other wood worked dropped from fifthplace last year to eighth place this year with 59,858 m3 costing US $ 16.43 million, CIF. Its reported volume was 35.60% lower than last year’s record while its cost declined by 32.69 %.
OTHER FORESTRY RELATED STATISTICS
Based on the 2000 Census of Philippine Business and Industry (CPBI) of the National Statistics Office, there were 82 establishments involved in forestry, logging and related service activities in 1999. Logging operations accounted for more than half of this total at a count of 43 establishments or 52.44%. It had recorded a total employment (average for the year) of 1,054 and total revenue of 202 million pesos during the reference year. Next to logging operations was the industry group “growing of timber forest species (e.g. Gmelina, Eucalyptus, etc.), planting, replanting, transplanting, thinning and conserving of forest and timber tracts,” which had 21 establishments. It posted a total employment (average for the year) of 950 and total revenue of 163 million pesos. Meanwhile, 18 establishments were involved in the operation of forest tree nurseries and other forestry activities. It had a minimal employment (average for the year) of 518 and total revenue of 4 million pesos. The same census resulted to a total of 772 large (with average total employment of 20 or more) forest-based manufacturing establishments in 1999. These establishments had generated a total employment (average for the year) of 76,799 and total revenue of 56,574 million pesos. Mostly found in the National Capital Region, these forest-based manufacturing establishments consist of the following: 1) manufacture of wood, and wood products, except furniture (169 establishments), 2) manufacture of products of bamboo, cane, rattan, and the like, and plating materials, except furniture, other products of wood (73 establishments), 3) manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard (203 establishments), and 4) manufacture and repair of furniture (327 establishments).
The forestry sector contributed some 1,221 million pesos (at constant prices of 1985) or a minimal 0.10 percent to the country’s Gross National Product (GNP) of 1,234 billion pesos in 2004. Its equivalent value at current prices was equal to 3,535 million pesos. This year’s contribution of the forestry sector was noted higher than the previous year’s contribution of 859 million pesos (at constant prices of 1985) by 42.14 percent.
There were 64 schools in the country that offered forestry and allied courses during school year 2003 – 2004. Enrollees were recorded at 8,170. This school year’s enrollment is lower than the previous year’s record of 9,056 by 9.78 percent.