Comparative Analysis on the trends in the volume of logs supplied to sawmill in Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out to evaluate the trends in the volume of some commonly utilized timber species supplied to sawmill in Edo State for a period of eight years (2002 - 2009) and compare the results with the trend obtained in the last decade (1991-2000). Primary data used for the study were collected from randomly selected sawmills in Edo State. Data collected for the study include species, size, quantity and date of log supplied to the sawmill. The data were collated and analyzed using linear regression model and analysis of variance procedure to determine differences between means of the different variables. The results of the regression model showed that volume of logs supplied to sawmills between 2002 - 2009 decreased annually by 41.178m³. The results also showed that, the total volume of logs supplied to sawmill in Edo State for the period 2002-2009 was 64,938.3m³ while the total volume supplied for the period 1991 - 2000 was 4,689,378m³. The results further revealed that, the volume of logs supplied to sawmill in Edo State decline from 10,414.95m³ in 2002 to 6,058.95m³ in 2009 compared with the volume obtained in the last decade with a decreasing trend of 813,006m³ in 1991 to 183,864m³ in 2000.