The Economic Advisory Council to the Indian Prime Minister has called for de-regulating timber cultivation to increase teak resources.
Members say a complex regulatory system that limits timber planting, felling and transit, combined with increased demand for furniture, plywood and timber for construction, has increased India’s dependence on imports.”
The policy changes proposed aim to set India on the path to becoming a leading teak exporter. Despite being a tropical country, India has been unable to unlock the full potential of agroforestry, says the International Tropical Timber Organisation. India’s agroforestry sector remains underutilised and stifled by regulation.
According to a study published in the journal Environment, Development and Sustainability, as of 2021, the area under agroforestry (defined as tree cover per cent greater than 10% on agricultural land) is estimated to be around 28 million hectares. This is a mere 17% of total agricultural land and is far less than the global average of 43%.
Agroforestry is India’s primary source of timber. According to the Indian Council on Forest Research and Education, more than 93% of India’s domestic timber was produced by “trees outside forests”, most of which are agroforestry plots.
“However, a stringent, complex and cumbersome regulatory policy combined with a conservation-led approach to forestry has stifled the growth of agroforestry in India,” says ITTO.
Consequently, India has become a net importer of timber. In 2023, India imported more than US $2.7 billion worth of timber, almost 12% of all agro-based imports for the same year.
Furthermore, between 2010 and 2019, 42% of total timber imports came from “at-risk countries,” while 80% of teak and more than 70% of the high-value native species Gurian (Dipterocarpus turbinate) came from high-risk countries or conflict-affected states.
Additionally, the demand for timber from the plywood industry alone is set to increase by almost fourfold by 2030. If business were to continue as it is, it could increase import dependency on high-value varieties since 70% of the timber used in the furniture and construction industries is from these trees.
Given that teak is one of India’s most abundant native species, it presents an opportunity for India to move from being import-dependent to being an export leader of teak on a global scale.
The global demand for teak is currently valued at US $43.26 billion, and its dependent wood-based industries, such as furniture, are expected to grow domestically and globally. Therefore, replacing teak imports by scaling up domestic production through agroforestry provides not only a low-cost opportunity to reduce imports worth US $350 million a year but, more importantly, creates new economic opportunities for farmers, artisans and manufacturers by making India a leader in the global teak market.
Agroforestry is critical to transforming the livelihood of the farmers in many ways as well. High-value trees such as teak sell for 10 times the price of eucalyptus, priced at INR 40 to 50 per kg and eucalyptus at 4 to 6% kg on average, directly enhancing their incomes. Hence, it ensures a resilient supply for a rapidly growing furniture and construction industry, which is predicted to grow at 13% annually until 2030.
Moreover, according to the Centre for Agroforestry Research Institute (CAFRI), agroforestry provides about 65% of small timber, 70-80% of wood for furniture and construction industries, nearly half of the demand for fuelwood, about 60% of raw material for paper and pulp, and 9-11% of India’s green fodder requirement for livestock as of 2015.
