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While Maharashtra‘s deregulation is a welcome step, removing thereby reducing regulatory burdens and encouraging greater
regulatory barriers alone will not transform the teak sector, investment in tree-based farming.
the bigger challenge is technical rather than administrative. The future of teak-based agroforestry will depend on the
For decades, farmers have been encouraged to invest in availability of quality planting material, scientifically validated
teak plantations, particularly tissue-cultured teak, based on management practices, assured markets and reliable traceability
claims of rapid growth and high returns. systems.

Yet evidence supporting many of these claims remains Equally important is the need for transparent timber pricing.
limited. Even after growing quality teak, farmers are often forced
Despite the widespread adoption of tissue-cultured planting to sell at low prices because intermediaries undervalue the
material and the presence of over 200 tissue-culture laboratories wood as suitable only for poles or fuelwood. This undermines
in India, there are no long-term comparative studies exceeding the profitability of teak cultivation and discourages long-term
25 years that conclusively demonstrate superior growth, timber investment by farmers.
quality or economic returns.
Plantation performance depends far more on spacing, IMF raises India’s GDP forecast
thinning, pruning, site quality and overall management than The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its projection

on planting material alone. for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2024-25
A Karnataka study found that well-managed teak plantations by 20 basis points to seven percent amid a boost in private
produced nearly four times more usable wood per tree than consumption, especially in rural areas.
poorly managed, densely planted stands, highlighting the “The forecast for growth in India has been revised upward
importance of scientific management. with the change reflecting carryover from upward revisions to
Another challenge that deserves greater attention is timber growth in 2023,” the update to the IMF’s World Economic
traceability. Outlook (WEO) said.

As states move towards liberalised harvesting and transit In 2025-26, the IMF expects growth to slow to 6.5 percent,
regulations, concerns regarding illegal timber movement are as it stated in its April World Economic Outlook. The RBI has
likely to increase. projected the Indian economy to grow at 7.2 percent in FY25.
The solution, however, is not a return to cumbersome
permit systems. Instead, it has been suggested that India VIETNAM
invest in modern traceability mechanisms. Wood and wood product (W&WP) trade highlights
Digital plantation registration, geo-referenced tree inventories, • According to statistics from the Vietnam Customs, W&WP
QR-code-based timber tracking and certification systems exports reached US$1.60 billion in July 2026, up four percent
can help distinguish legally grown farm timber from illegally

harvested forest timber. Michał Szu
Such systems would simultaneously support agroforestry
expansion and strengthen forest conservation, the incentive
to plant new trees declines.
Along with teak, other commercially valuable tree species
preferred by farmers in agroforestry systems should be
exempted from restrictive harvesting and transit regulations,