Regional workshop on "Processing and Marketing of Teak Wood Products of Planted Forests", KFRI, Peechi, India, 25- 28 Sept 2007.

Teak (Tectona grandis L.f) is being grown in plantations in more than 36 tropical countries across the globe although its natural occurrence is limited to India, Laos Myanmar and Thailand. Of the estimated 187.1 million hectares of global forest plantations in 2000, about 5.7 million hectares (3%) were teak, representing about 75% of the world’s high-quality tropical hardwood plantations, the major producers being India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand.

It is little wonder that teak excites more interest among the general public than any other tropical hardwood for its versatile wood with sterling properties.The rapid expansion of teak plantations, however, poses a risk of undermining its reputation in global market place because of wide variations in wood quality with the net effect of reducing the prices and therefore the financial viability of teak planting programmes. To avoid this, teak growers at the community and industrial levels, must ensure that the wood they produce is of the highest possible quality, which will mean choosing the right sites carefully, using good genetic stock, employing optimal rotation cycles and appropriate silvicultural techniques.