Study site and data used
The study was conducted in the state of Kerala, a narrow strip of land located in the south-west corner of the Indian Peninsula between north latitude 8018` and 12048` and east longitude 740 52` and 770 22`. It encompasses an area of 38,863 km2. The state has a forest area of 11,309 km2, of which about 13% is plantation forest. Teak is the major species contributing about 53% to the total area under forest plantations. In India, forests are managed by the Forest Departments of the State Governments under the guidelines of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The Kerala Forest Department is responsible for managing the forests including forest plantations in that State. The timber is felled only from forest plantations, timber felling from natural forests being banned.
Timber felled from forest plantations is deposited for sale in 33 Sales Depots across 6 Forest Sales Divisions.
The timber supplied to each Forest Depot is mostly from neighbouring forest plantations. The major species sold through Sales Depots is teak. Round timber of teak is traditionally classified based on mid-girth, length and straightness and soundness of logs (Table 1). Though poles and billets were also graded, they are excluded here. Prior to sale, timber logs are arranged into lots based on quality attributes of the individual logs. A lot may contain one or more logs but the volume does not exceed 5 m3. Sale is by both tender and auction. The sales are awarded to the highest bidder. Timber grading and sale are carried out by the Manager of the Timber Depot under the supervision of the Officer of the Timber Sales Division. Price data were collected from Sales Depots by contacting them both in person and by mail at regular intervals, and were compiled for the analysis.
Grading rules of teak logs
Table 1 Criteria for major classification of teak wood
| Straightness and soundness | Girth | Length | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | Criteria | Girth class | Middle girth (cm)* | Length class | Length (m) |
| A | Logs straight and sound without any defects | Export | 185 and above | SL | Above 1 and below 2.5 |
| B | Fairly straight and sound logs | I | 150 -184 | LL | 2.5 - 7.3 |
| C | Defective and crooked logs | II | 100 -149 | LLL | above 7.3 |
| D | Highly defective and crooked logs | III | 75 – 99 | ||
| IV | 60-74 | ||||
*Middle log girth (under bark).
Because teak sold in government timber depots is usually felled at the age of 55-60 years, age was not considered while grading the timber. The differences in colour and grain were also not considered while grading. Though more distinct classification was possible with respect to physical properties of teak wood based on the quantification of attributes such as number of bends, holes, cracks, knots, buttresses and splits, as per Indian Standard Grading Rules for Teak logs, these properties were not differentiated. The grading rules followed by the timber depots were as per the guidelines of the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department based on girth, length and straightness and soundness of logs (Table 1). The straightness and soundness of logs was assessed by visual inspection of attributes without actually being quantified.
Taxrate
The prices indicated in the tables are exclusive of tax. The current tax rate for the financial year 2013-2014 is 22% of the sale value.The tax breakup is as follows.