Furniture prices spike after logging ban

Prices of wood products have nearly doubled after the government slapped a 90-day ban on logging.

Consumers are now bearing the brunt of the State’s directive even as experts urge Kenyans to seek cheaper and more convenient alternatives.

A spot check by Citizen TV shows that a 4X6 bed that would normally cost Ksh.20,000 is now being sold at Ksh.30,000.

In Kawangware, furniture traders have shut down their businesses due to lack of timber.

Along Nairobi’s busy Ngong Road, the prime location for furniture traders, business has been tough.

The acute shortage of timber after the logging ban, has forced traders to push up their prices, consequently passing the cost onto consumers.

”We are facing a huge challenge after the ban because we can’t get our usual supply of wood to make beds, chairs and other products,” Dickson Mwenda told Citizen TV.

Timber supply has dwindled as dealers exhaust their old stock.

”What we were selling for Ksh.20 now goes for Ksh.50,” Martin Matu, from the Timber Manufactures Association said.

Some traders have now turned to steel after the government banned logging in the country.

The directive was issued in February after water levels in major rivers dropped at an alarming rate.

The government blamed the mess on loggers, who have since protested the ban. The State intends to increase Kenya’s forest cover from the current six percent to 10 percent as recommended by the United Nations.

Experts are urging Kenyans to change their mindset and seek alternative products as opposed to only settling for wood items.