Trade in a range of forest products from the COMESA region is already globally significant, according to the latest newsletter of the trading block, which said that COMESA member States were among the leading exporters of timber and non-timber forest products.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, is the fifth largest exporter of tropical logs.
The newsletter quoted Director of Investment Promotion and Private Sector Development (IPPSD) at the COMESA secretariat, Chungu Mwila, as revealing that Sudan provides 50 percent of global supplies of gum Arabic, while Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya are leading exporters in a number of valuable flavours and fragrances.
Other COMESA member countries that are leading in the exporter of forestry products are Madagascar, Burundi, Kenya and DRC, which export the medicinal bark from the tree known as Prunus Africana.
COMESA is a global leader in the production of vanilla (dominated by Madagascar) and ylang-ylang for perfumes (dominated by Comoros).
Coffee and tea are major agroforestry crops, and several COMESA member countries (Kenya and to a lesser extent Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are significant producers of woodcarvings).
Lusaka - 30/05/2008
Pana
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