Posted on :Tuesday , 28th December 2021

Africa will be one of the world's greatest marketplaces by 2050, with a population exceeding that of China. The construction of a continental free trade zone is well underway. Africa's population will grow to include a sizable middle class with a growing hunger for consumer goods. These trends present opportunities for investment and expansion in the forest and wood products industries. Tanzania is a promising country, and Margules Groome is eager to contribute to the expansion of African chances.

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation (Gatsby) founded the Forestry Development Trust (FDT) in 2013 as an autonomous Tanzanian organisation with a long-term vision for the commercial forestry sector's development. FDT is researching a possibility to aid the development of Engineered Wood Product value chains in Tanzania with the help of the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) Forestry Working Group. As part of this goal, FDT hired Margules Groome Consulting to conduct a feasibility analysis of several engineered wood products' investment possibilities based on their technical, economic, and development potential.

Engineered wood product potential and implementation in a regional context, which takes into account log and other raw material supply and quality dynamics, as well as local, regional, and worldwide demand for engineered wood products, is an important part of the project.

Margules Groome travelled to Dar es Salaam and the Southern Highlands of Tanzania as part of this process to meet with various stakeholders in the value chain, including producers, wood transporters, timber processors, and purchasers. Margules Groome also took part in an FDT workshop at Iringa. Members of TNBC, the Tanzanian government, academia, and other industry groups were among those who attended.

The workshop presentation began with a background on the possibilities of engineered wood products in a global market environment, followed by a discussion of the types of goods that would be ideal for Tanzania, taking into account the local market situation. The first session aimed to encourage stakeholder participation based on their industry and supply chain experience, as well as providing worldwide market insights. Opportunities and limits to the expansion of the engineered wood products market were examined in depth during breakout sessions.

A second workshop will be held to explain our findings and to create a path for investing in and implementing engineered wood products in Tanzania.