Company ProfileCopperbelt Forestry Company

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Copperbelt Forestry Company Limited (CFC) is a vertically integrated business engaged in forest plantation establishment, silvicultural operations, harvesting, processing and distributing various industrial and domestic wood products. Its core product groups are transmission and building poles, hardwood timber, softwood timber, plywood, blockboards, doors and assorted furniture. CFC has widespread infrastructure to produce and supply timber and other wood products for mining, construction and domestic use. 

Project Description

While CFC has maintained a positive growth trajectory and market share in the wood products value chain since inception, there has been a decline in harvestable volumes of timber in recent years. This is owed to low numbers of mature standing trees in the country. This challenge has been further exacerbated by a growing demand for timber products, and numerous constraints on tree planting rates. The reduction in volumes has negatively impacted segments of the company’s product lines and subsequent growth. The increase in population and the decline in harvestable timber has caused a shortage of sustainably harvested wood on the Zambian market as well as the region.

With support from EZCF, CFC proposes the following interventions:

1. To pioneer private sector participation in the development of commercial forest plantations and develop 3,210 hectares of plantations consisting of exotic eucalyptus and pine as well as suitable indigenous tree species.
2. To partner with 2,140 small-scale farmers and providing them with the necessary inputs for the plantations and create an additional 1,605 indirect jobs in the value chain.
3. To engage small holder farmers in sustainable bee keeping as a short-term income generating measure.
4. Provide smallholder farmers access to both honey and wood markets.

Product, Market and Competition

1. Zambia and the region face a shortage of sustainably harvested timber because of the rapid growth in population and the growing GDP. The regional demand for timber far exceeds the supply hence making it conducive for unsustainably harvested timber to be sold. Current local demand for timber alone far exceeds the supply, a trend that is expected to continue. Further, secondary markets for exotic timbers include DRC, Botswana and Angola. Other markets for indigenous species are Europe, Asia and North America where the woods are utilized for special furniture.
2. Zambia is among the largest exporters of bee products in Africa, and the top producer in Southern Africa, exporting to South Africa and Europe. Demand for honey is expected to increase in the medium to long-term, due to lifestyle changes made by increasingly health conscious populations. The demand for Zambian organically produced honey far exceeds the production hence this project aims at tapping into that market.