National demand for sawnwood in Cameroon. A barrier to or an opportunity for promoting the use of timber resources of legal origin?

Domestic timber consumption in Central Africa, which is predominantly fed with sawnwood of informal origin, is important both economically and socially. No one has yet addressed the information needed in order to develop the conditions that will improve the legality of timber trade and practices. This report aims to fill that gap by reviewing the demand and supply of different wood products in the Cameroonian domestic market (Yaoundé and Douala) in order to identify the opportunities that would promote the consumption of sawnwood and furniture of legal origin, which would strengthen the sustainable management of timber resources and encourage long-term, green economic growth. Private and public demands for timber are mainly for three uses: construction material for the building and public works (BPW) sector, for frames and for furniture. These demands are expressed at four marketing levels: 1. The urban markets: Approximately 830,000 m3 of sawnwood are sold per year, mainly in the form of planks, formworks, laths and rafters. This sector's characteristics have undergone little change over the last decade, with identical products, prices and species each year. The average price of 1 m3 charged in the urban markets for all sawnwood categories combined is about XAF 80,000. Products that are declared to be of legal origin (as they come from industrial mills) represent between 12 and 18% of the volume sold. However, between 15 and 34% of customers reported that they would purchase legal timber if their income increased by between 20 and 100% in the next 5 years. In addition, half of the buyers interviewed stated that they would pay 10% more in order to acquire timber from legal origins. This estimate depends on the occupation of the buyer, the product bought and the timber species of the product. Finally, the interviewed buyers stated that they could bear a 45% increase in current sawnwood prices before substituting them with alternative products. So, demand would exist