Local markets

In certain cases the use of coconut wood can replace tropical wood from rain forests. The foremost of these are use as structural material in building, for telephone poles and as fuel wood (waste, slabs, and low density material}. Construction wood with a low level of processing can currently be made available more cheaply than tropical wood from rain forests, especially in the rural area (50-60 % of the price of tropical wood). None of the products mentioned above requires the use of costly technology for its manufacture. Export markets The above-mentioned preconditions for use and marketing must be ensured, especially when supplying export markets. Obviously the highest possible amount of added value must be aimed at, taking into account the available know-how and technology. In the industrialized countries the palmtree is the symbol for the exotic, sun and vacation. This should be exploited in marketing activities. There are two obvious opportunities for marketing products made from coconut palm wood: 1. Cheap products in large quantities and to some extent a low level of processing, such as sawn timber, pallets, wallpanelIing, parquet, packaging material, scantlings timber for doors). 2. Products with a special design and of high quality, such as furniture, finished parquet, accessories, that are offered in the higher (up-market) price sector. The characteristics of coconut wood that may have impacts on the sales opportunities must be taken into consideration in both product routes. In the first case these include high manufacturingcoststhat result mainly from highertool ing costs and low machine capacities in the machining and which may therefore prevent the provision of economically-priced products. In the second case special account must be taken of the appearance of coconut wood, since it looks very dark when used in large surface areas, i.e. the design must take special account of this effect, e.g. by the use of differently coloured materials (a combination of materials and colours, e.g. through fabrics or differently coloured woods).