Overview of timber sector of Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

Supply chain actors

The forest industry of the country is composed of several hundred small processing units, and there are only a few big enterprises. A large part of the industry is foreign owned. - Learn more about the forestry sector in Côte d'Ivoire.(FR)

Production and processing

Export

The main products exported from Côte d’Ivoire are flooring, logs from planted forests, mouldings, particle boards, plywood, sawn wood, and veneer.

In 2019, out of a total of 40 exotic and local forest species that were exported in the form of fresh and dried sawn timber between 1 January 2019 and 30 September 2019, Dabema ranks first (for the past 5 years) with a volume of 9,189.32 m³ followed by Samba, Gmelina, Iroko and cedrela (7,723.71 m³, 5,888 m³, 4,927.12 m³ and 4,642.75 m³, respectively). Gmelina, Teak and Linguese were exported mainly to the Asian market, with Gmelina leading the pack. In 2019, Iroko lost its second place position to Samba. Moreover, it should be noted that importers' preference for Dabema is due to its characteristics, which are highly similar to those of Iroko (resistant to mushrooms and termites), while offering a very attractive market value. The Ivorian forests abound with many species that are not well known and therefore not highly valued. In order to meet the needs of areas above the 8^th parallel, the Ministry of Water and Forests places special emphasis on this fact, notably by promoting alternative species. 

Logistics infrastructure

Typically, wood is transported from the regions in which it grows to the port of Abidjan in the East, where the vast bulk of wood-based manufacturing takes place, or to the port of San Pedro in the West. 

Data table

ITTO (2019), data 2017