Global teak resources and market assessment 2022.

5 S ince 2010, when FAO conducted the former “Teak Resources and Market Assessment” (TRMA 2010) as a special study of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (FRA 2010), the global teak sector has been faced with a significant data gap on the present status of global teak resources and trade. This situation was addressed at the 4th World Teak Conference (WTC) held in Accra, Ghana in September 2022 calling for an update of TRMA 2010 to improve the statistical data on teak forests and provide more reliable information on the development of teak resources, wood harvests, and international trade. IUFRO through its Special Programme for Development of Capacities (SPDC) along with FAO and TEAKNET1 have taken up this recommendation and initiated the “Global Teak Resources and Market Assessment 2022” (TRMA 2022) as a follow-up to previous projects. Earlier on, IUFRO in cooperation with FAO and ITTO published the `Global Teak Study. Analysis, Evaluation and Future Potential of Teak Resources` (2017) addressing best practices and lessons learnt on the conservation of teak genetic resources and the sustainable management of teak forests in different country contexts in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Within its scientific structure, IUFRO continues to maintain a working party on the `Utilization of Planted Teak` which aims at research and dissemination of scientific information on teak timber produced within the framework of socially and environmentally acceptable norms of sustainable forest management. The “Global Teak Resources and Market Assessment 2022” aims to present updated country level information on teak (Tectona grandis Linn.F.), which continues to be one of the most important tropical hardwood resources in the world. Teak resources were assessed in 80 countries in the tropics through a standardized questionnaire available in Chinese, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, that was sent to qualified experts with access to the required data on teak. The experts were identified through the large professional networks of IUFRO, TEAKNET, and five regional coordina- tors, mainly from national forest research institutions, universities or forestry administrations. They were instrumental in the process of data collection and verification by managing the communication with the identified resource persons and monitor the distribution and collection of the questionnaires. Data on the international trade of teak roundwood and sawntimber have been captured from the UN COMTRADE database that publishes teak data based on official customs records since January 2022. Many planted teak forests are owned or managed by private companies, particularly in South America. It is of utmost importance to note that the resource data reported by such companies in each particular questionnaire have been aggre- gated at national level to preclude the possibility to trace the resource data back to any public or private entity within a given country. The results and findings of this report, published by IUFRO with generous support provided by the United States Forest Service, the Institute of Forest Science, Republic of Korea and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, For- estry, Regions and Water Management will facilitate an improved assessment of the significance of teak resources and the international teak trade providing policy- and decision-makers, investors, and managers with a better understanding of the important role that teak resources are playing today in the provision of wood products for the national economies of many countries.