Set up and Accreditation of Test Laboratory for the Wood Industry in Ghana

Trade in timber and timber products contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of Ghana. The Ghana timber industry has over the years been largely characterized by primary and secondary processing primarily for export. The magnitude of tertiary processed products and equivalent foreign exchange earnings has consistently declined over the years (e.g. it decreased from 11.35% in 2004 to 4.03% in 2009 in terms of volume of tertiary products exported (TIDD, 2011). Timber industry is currently challenged with dwindling wood supplies coupled with the demand for wood for domestic consumption. Under the present circumstances, the need to redirect industry focus for higher value processing cannot be under scored lack of an accredited testing centre in the country to ensure that standards are complied in the manufacture and processing of wood products. Despite the availability of some high quality wood species, the quality level of wood and furniture products is rather low. This needs to be improved to enable the wood industry compete on both the local and international markets. Influx of low quality and cheap foreign wood products. Ghana is a focus country in the wood and furniture sector under the Swiss Import Promotion (SIPPO) programme. In most of the developed countries the fulfillment of standards is one of the key factors for market access. A wood and a furniture testing Lab. accredited under ISO 17025 is therefore needed.