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–  higher prices anticipatedGuyana’s insatiable demand for plywood, which was rudely interrupted two months ago with the sudden closure of the country’s largest factory, may gain some respite with news that a large shipment is set to be unloaded.Barama Company Limited, whose plywood facility at Land of Canaan,Cheap Jerseys Free, East Bank Demerara, was closed early October, yesterday announced that 562 crates were expected last evening.However, while the shipment is expected to cover local market demands for two months, there is still some bad news with the prices expected to be much higher.The closure of the factory had driven prices up amidst uncertainty.According to the company in a press statement yesterday,Brad Richards Red Wings Jersey, it is making every effort to supply plywood at a lower price to local distributors, and has applied for exemption of import duty and Value-Added Tax (VAT) to minimise cost.“However, several factors have adversely impacted the final price, including high import prices, import duties, freight and handling cost.”Kaieteur News understands that the company was unable to get permission for a waiver on the taxes and duties and as such,Deion Sanders Falcons Jersey, prices are likely to be as much as 75% higher than before the news of the factory’s closure had hit the market.President Bharrat Jagdeo had announced last month that the import duty on plywood would have been removed because of shortages and because of the fact that some retailers were hiking prices.Minister of Commerce, Manniram Prashad, had been suggested to examine the matter through the Competitions Commission, it was reported.BCL is estimating that 1,Artemi Panarin Jersey,016 cubic meters of the plywood of varying sizes is in the shipment which was expected last evening.Plywood is the cheapest and most popular among construction materials for a booming housing industry.According to the company, it decided to procure imported plywood after the shutdown of its plywood factory which affected the supply to local markets.“Plywood has continued to be in high demand because of its versatility, competitive pricing and the Government of Guyana’s ongoing low cost housing ownership drive.”BCL’s Chief Executive Officer,NFL Jerseys China Online, Clement Ooi,Marlon Humphrey Jersey, noted that the shipment is part of the company’s immediate plans to lessen the impact of any shortage.Already, consumers have been complaining of shortages and high prices charged by retailers.BCL assured that its promise is to bring the factory back into operations by the end of next year with interim arrangements to start operations by June to meet local demands.“The company’s effort in importing plywood is in line with our immediate plans to mitigate the shortage in plywood supply. As communicated to the Government on November 8th, we are concentrating our efforts to implement a medium-term plan to commence plywood manufacturing by end of June 2011, with the aim of restoring our plywood production capacity to normal levels by the end of December 2011.”With increased demand resulting in the steep price increases of local plywood, Barama yesterday also appealed to distributors to be fair and responsible in their pricing and not transfer the high costs to local consumers.“In addition, the company urges the relevant authorities to monitor the quality of imported plywood that is allowed to enter the local market. We would like to thank our stakeholders for their understanding and support as we move forward during this crisis. Barama remains committed to restoring our plywood manufacturing in the best interest of our business and our stakeholders.”In early November BCL’s officials, including Ooi, had met with Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, where there was an assurance to install a small boiler to bring the operations of the factory back up by at least June to meet the local market demands.President Bharrat Jagdeo had earlier threatened to pull the concessions the company currently enjoys.Since its closure, the company has laid off 274 workers, some of them who had served over a decade.The workers were made redundant following damage to a boiler at the company’s East Bank Demerara location in early October and the company had said that it would take a year to rectify.The boiler’s damage had been blamed on workers’ negligence.At a meeting with the workers in early November, the President said that there seems to be no sense of urgency by BCL to restart the plywood operations.With the Malaysian-owned BCL granted numerous tax concessions, the President was stern in his view that unless the company makes speedy efforts to restart operations, it may very well see these concessions being reviewed.Minister Persaud had also said that the Guyana Forestry Commission, which regulates the operations of BCL, will continue to monitor Barama’s operations and the expectation is that the company will resume plywood production within a “practical timeframe” once it is able to fix or replace its boiler.It has been reported that at least two hardware giants are looking to cash in on the plywood shortage with talks ongoing with a number of overseas producers.