The annual member meeting and conference of the Charcoal Producers Association was held this week at the Reit Klub, Otjiwarongo. A record amount of 85 members, sponsors and guests attended the conference to which various guest speakers were invited to give their inputs. The Director of Forestry, Mr J Hailwa was the opening speaker and he pointed out that the shortage of manpower in his Directorate is a problem and confirmed that various new offices in various areas will be opened in order to bring the Directorate closer to the producers and to try to improve inspections and general services. Mr Hailwa expressed his concern about the over-utilization of resources in especially communal areas and contributed the problem to the lack of ownership in these areas.
Various buyers from South Africa attended the conference as well as two representatives from Kuwait who indicated that they see Namibia as a potential buying market and are interested in the product of the Namibian producer. An interesting development with regard to new technology was discussed by Ecochar, who is busy developing a new kiln which promotes effectiveness in terms of quality, increased productivity and environmental friendly. The charcoal industry is now a big established industry and will strive towards more sustainability and increased effectiveness.
During the member meeting the general opinion amongst producers was that besides numerous challenges, the industry had a good year as stable markets and good prices have promoted production. The labour question and more specific the high labour turnover was pointed out as the biggest obstacle on sustainable production and to serve export markets. Mr Pieter Potgieter was appointed as new chairperson of the Charcoal Producers