The Carrefour International du Bois (CIB) 2026, which was held in Nantes, France, was attended by a high-powered delegation from Ghana’s timber and trade industry. The delegation returned from CIB 2026, with new EU contacts, fresh orders under discussion, and a clear message: FLEGT legality opens the door, but quality and finishing will win contracts.

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  • The Ghana timber trade and industry was represented by the Ghana Timber Millers Organisation (GTMO), Sunstex Timber Company, Logs & Lumber Limited, SUHUMA-JCM, Logs Court, Ayipah Woods, Furnart Ghana, and Tekura Enterprise Limited.

The fair gave representatives the opportunity to exhibit their products, attend  workshops and roundtable discussions,  organised as part of the activities to mark the event. The industry got the opportunity to increase market visibility for FLEGT timber and promote trade and investment between Ghana and EU forest-based industries.

According to Madam  Opeibea Omaboe, Managing Director of Furnart, the   “Exposure Was Massive and a positive move for the sector.  It gave some of us the networking opportunity with  the big boys in the industry in Ghana .  We also established good relations with other timber  and furniture producing firms in the EU which will benefit my company,” she said.  

Madam Omaboe commended the management of Forestry Commission for identifying her company and the ATIBT for the sponsorship, which gave her the opportunity to be a part of the Fair.  She said “the exposure and networking was commendable but the magnitude of the market in Europe was massive. It tells us to ensure that quality & finishing are meticulous.  Ghana must match EU finishing standards to scale up”, she said.”  

She proposed that “Ghana can do a similar one for the West African sub-region for end users. This will create a platform for industry in the sub-region to meet for business. It will come as an annual exhibition of wood from Africa”, she concluded.

Dr.  Kwame Asamoah Adams, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Timber Millers Organisation (GTMO) emphasied the relevance of the Fair to the industry, saying that “It is an eye opener for the competition between temperate timber in Europe and timber in West Africa and Ghana. The EU market requires large volumes for the construction industry, which Ghana does not have”. He advocated for extensive work to be done on Lesser Known / Used Timber Species (LKTS/LUTS), which is ideal for the construction industry in the EU.

Dr Adams added his voice to the call for a replication of the CIB in the West or Central Africa regions to explore the African market, especially the Sahelian  Region.

Dr. Adams however, bemoaned the low level of awareness about the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license and its entire process among the EU exhibitors, saying that awareness creation has not gone down the entire chain. He advocated that “Ghana has to attend more of such fairs to sell the FLEGT License and make relevant information available to consumers”. To him, the objective of the fair is very relevant, and CIB 2026 is one of the events that can be used to make the Ghanaian timber industry more prominent