Punjab government has evolved a strategy for the promotion of forestry and to bring farmland under plantation. Under the plan special attention would be accorded on increasing the number of trees from existing 17 percent to 29 percent upto 2020 to making up the deficiency.
Official sources told Business Recorder here on Thursday that the objectives of the programme is to promote tree plantation on farmland and the income of farming community, it is essential to set up a viable market for the wood and wood products.
The forest department has also established a "Marketing Cell" aimed at carrying a detailed survey of the available material, study the timber market trends and to establish a database of consumption of forest products, to promote the small-scale wood based industries and grading of wood/logs according to market demand for fetching better rates sources added.
The per day wood consumption in wood based industries including leading sports goods industrial units of Sialkot is as Mulberry 100,000cft, Bakain 5,000cft, Willow 25,000cft, Popular 300,000cft, Cane 10,000cft, and Eucalyptus 10,000cft.
The different verities of wood is being used in manufacturing of fine quality cricket bats, cricket gears and hockey sticks etc by the local sports goods industries and the demands of wood are multiplying day by day sources added.