Following fall out between Guyana and BaiShanLin…Vaitarna makes swift moves to put its house in order

Oct 17, 2016 News

– Natural Resources Minister

After witnessing the many ways in which the controversial BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. paid for its mistakes in the forestry sector, it appears as though Indian logging company, Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc. is making swift moves to put its house in order.
This is according to Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman.
At his most recent press conference, Trotman indicated that Vaitarna is making moves to honour its commitment to value added production when it comes to Guyana’s logs.
“Value added” refers to the enhancement of a raw material thereby increasing its worth.
“They have brought some mills and I think they got the message and they are working towards value added. The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is monitoring them and we are in talks. The expectation is that we can strengthen our relationship,” Trotman said.
Over the years, Vaitarna Holdings was granted fiscal concessions on machinery and equipment with a value of $1.142 billion, equivalent to US$5.712 million. This was based on an investment agreement it had entered into with the Government of Guyana. The company also has access to 737,835 hectares of State forest.

Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman

Last year, the entity said that it had started some amount of value added production. Vaitarna even claimed that it fulfilled its commitment to Guyana to add value to their operations by installing three WoodMizer Sawmills – one of which was as a “portable” sawmill – at its Wineperu location, Essequibo River. It also stated that a saw-doctoring unit facility has also been established to add value.
However, several anti-corruption advocates and forestry experts challenged those remarks by the company, saying that those types of mills can be deemed appropriate in adding value to small and medium scale operations. They stressed that the equipment does not apply to Vaitarna which has control over the second largest forest concession in the state.
Officials had said that installing those mills instead of erecting a “full-out” wood processing facility is a sign of frustration deriving from the mounting of pressure over the years from competitors and the media to have the company keep its promise made to Guyana and its people.
Vaitarna currently has the capacity to produce approximately 350,000BM (825 m3) of lumber per month on an eight-hour shift.
The company has in the past come under scrutiny after several reports began to surface that it was exporting raw lumber.
The exportation of logs rather than processing the timber locally has long been a concern since numerous promises have been made by the previous administration and foreign investors about value-added operations.
The promise of value-added has been seen as a “sugar coating” to enable the export of large quantities of logs, particularly to China and India, even though there is little job creation in Guyana or value enhancement in this sector.