The wood industry in Congo, the second largest source of money after the petrol industry from the West African countries, suffered as result of the financial crisis.
Governmental sources state that this situation has been persisiting for several months.
"In the last 8 months, the price of timber on the international markets has dropped, due to the financial crisis, causing a decline in demand", declared the Minister of Environment, Henri Djombo.
"The demand from large exporter countries has decreased",Djombo said during a meeting organised with the purpose of finding solutions for national countries which, because of lack in activity, find themselves fully stocked.
The major importers of Congo's wooden products come from US, Europe and Asia. These three are responsible for 2/3 of this country's total exports.
Faced with the financial crisis, the government and specialised companies have stopped productivity. Thus, the unemployment rate has raised up to 30%.
One of the measures discussed during the meeting was to reduce production, adapting it to the current demand from the market.
Congo's wood industry is a pillar for the national economy, bringing in profits up to 397 millions in 2006 alone. |
