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Guatemala, from the Nahualt word “guaugtemallan”, which means Land of Trees, expresses the natural wealth with which the these lands are blessed, a primary characteristic of a country with natural forestry vocation.
Land suitable for forestry activities accounts for 51.4% of the territory. The country has natural resources that offer an adequate environment to grow a wide variety of trees with commercial value, as well as precious woods. Guatemala’s forest area extends to over 4 million hectares, which is equal to 37.1% of the national territory. Eighty-two percent (82%) of the wooded surface is made up of broadleaf forests, 10% of conifers and 8% of mixed forests. Likewise, over 50% of the Guatemalan soil is apt for forestry. |
Guatemala has many competitive advantages in the Forestry Sector, such as:
More Wood in less Time
Guatemala, the country of Eternal Spring, as it is referred to worldwide, has the great advantage of not being affected by extreme weather, benefiting the annual growth rate of its forests, which is higher than that of many countries of the same vocation (for certain species, the growth of a tree in any other part of the world takes around 80 years, while in Guatemala it takes just 15 years)
Different types of Wood available
Guatemala’s 360 microclimates, facilitate the industrial production of precious woods such as: Cedar, Mahogany, Rosewood, White Wood and Hormigo wood, among others.
Each year more companies export wood products to many different countries.
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Exportación por país Enero a Diciembre 2008 |
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País de Destino |
Vol. Mts. 3 |
Monto en $ |
% |
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EEUU |
33,326.50 |
19,957 Millones |
35.43 |
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El Salvador |
47,256.03 |
16,279 Millones |
28.90 |
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Honduras |
39,869.70 |
14,149 Millones |
25.12 |
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México |
6,624.14 |
8,017 Millones |
14.23 |
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Italia |
4,622.38 |
4,576 Millones |
8.12 |
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Otros |
16,000 |
7,050 Millones |
14.26 |
Fuente: Comisión de Muebles de Agexport
As of the foundation of the National Forest Institute –INAB- and its Forestry Incentive Program –PINFOR- in 1996 the objective was set out to reach a total of 285,000 hectares of plantations for the next 20 years. PINFOR grants financial type incentives for the execution of reforestation projects to those interested in the sustainable management of forests. Along with this effort, the private industrialization program, headed by Gremial Forestal, aims to replant trees, for industrial and commercial exploitation purposes, of nearly 1,500,000 hectares during the same period. This leads the country to offer a large variety of raw forest material for the elaboration of industrial products.
In the Forestry Sector, Guatemala has a solid cluster, connected to the Department of Economy, through the National Competitiveness Program, the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, through the National Forest Institute, and the Private Sector, through the Forestry Association of the Industrial Chamber of Guatemala. Such cluster aims to increase the sector’s competitiveness, promote investments, as well as business and exports.
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