Over the last year the PromPeru trade initiative for Peruvian Legal and Sustainable Value added Forest products made significant progress. In the late Months of 2021 research and development was done into determining what new products would be best suited for the North American Markets for the foreseeable future. It was determined that with the rapid decline in demand for exotic decking, Peru’s largest exported value added forest product, that an alternate product (s) that has an equally large demand in North America and around the world needs to be manufactured for export. The first step was to determine which specie(s) could be relatively quickly harvested in a legal and sustainable manner and in large and ongoing quantities to meet the past production capacities of Cumaru, Ipe, Jatoba and Masaranduba.

The product that fit this need was determined to be a Primed White Finger Jointed Edge Glued product in the form of DIY S4S Boards and Moldings. Currently there is a consistent demand for these products made from Chilean Radiata Pine (ex works Vietnam, Cambodia, New Zealand and Malaysia) and American Yellow Poplar (ex works Pennsylvania and Maryland) for the construction industry. As it is product that is used also for DIY renovation market it’s demand has proven to be relatively recession proof.

After a few weeks of research with the help and guidance of CITE Madera, a Peruvian company which serves the wood, furniture and related sectors, through the provision of technological services and R&D projects, it was determined that the Cachimbo and Manchinga were the species for this product. Cachimbo from the Pucallpa region and Manchinga from the Puerto Maldonado regions of Peru. By late 2021 8 – 10 Peruvian manufacturers were contacted and verified to be potential candidates to include this new product and alternate specie(s) in their ongoing production and export of hardwood products. After personally visiting the factories of these 8 – 10 manufacturers they were then subsequently invited to promote their products in PromPeru booth at the NAHB IBS Exhibition in Orlando Florida February 8 – 10, 2022. Six companies participated and the show was determined to be a great success for the Peruvian exporters.

To continue the initiative a Business directory of North American importers of Value Added hardwood products from exotic species was developed and 30 – 50 were contacted to qualify their potential interest in Peruvian Legal and Sustainable hardwood products. Once a viable list of interested importers was established over 20 zoom call meetings were scheduled and successfully executed. This allowed both parties to understand each others needs, abilities and limitations.

The next step was the organizing of a Trade Mission trip by eight to ten importers to come to Pucallpa and Lima Peru to visit the 10 Peruvian manufacturers of Legal and Sustainable Value added Forest Products. This trip was determined by both importing companies and exporting companies to be a great success and subsequent negotiations have already been made for orders to be placed for the first quarter of 2022.

In addition to becoming familiar with existing products and the potential for future products the Trade Mission also introduced the potential for introduction of Gasification into the product facilities of value added Forest Products. It was determined that there is a positive return on investment of utilizing wood waste for the industrial production of clean renewable energy. Gasification of biomass is one of the most cost effective and environmentally friendly methods for producing electricity and heat. Maderacre, Inforhuay and others are all now researching the potential benefits of this process introduced and proposed during this trade mission.

In November 2022, Promperu and the Association of Exporters – ADEX organized the event “Stakeholders of the peruvian forest products Industry”, the objective was to promote Peruvian wood exports to United States and Canada. In this event WWWF Peru presented the video “Bet for a sustainable forestry sector in the Peruvian rainforest”. This video summarizes the importance of legal timber and its benefit in local communities in the Ucayali Region.

While this first PromPeru Trade Initiative has been concluded and new business relations have been established it is by no means complete. In fact the seads for Business growth have just been planted and there is still very much work to be done. New trade shows now have to be scheduled and exhibited at to continue to promote the new value added products coming online. Manufacturers have to establish a quarterly zoom meeting schedule to keep their customers and potential customers up to date with their progress and production. Promotion through social media has to be developed in 2023 by all manufacturers to humanize their companies, their production, their products and their employees so that designers and architects all over the world have a story to work with when working with their clients.

Finally, in 2023 Peruwoods.com needs to be updated with each manufacturer’s products, websites and stories as they evolve through the year. The fist search any designer or consumer does is “Peru Woods”. It is the first impression the world has for everyone who is part of the exportation of Legal and Sustainable Value added products from Peru. This includes not only the manufacturers but also the “The Stakeholders” ADEX , FSC , OSINFOR, WWF, SERFOR, MINAM and CITE MADERA. The collaboration of all must be reflected clearly on this website.