Value addition of multipurpose tree species through saw milling in Gondia District of Maharashtra State

Abstract

In economic sense sawing of logs is creation of form utility to the logs of wood and thereby an addition of value by conversion into desired form as per consumer's expectation. Saw milling is the most important forest based industry in Gondia division. Therefore, an attempt has been made to study economics of saw milling with specific objectives of working out the costs and returns from saw milling process and to estimate the break-even point production. For this aspect, 24 saw mills were selected randomly representing different types of saws fitted for cutting wood. Out of 24 saw mills, 6 horizontal type (Group-I), 10 vertical type (Group-II) and 8 vertical & horizontal type (Group-III) were selected for the present study. The data pertaining to the year 1998-99 were collected by survey method with the help of specially designed pre-tested schedule. The data were analyzed by using simple statistical tools. The results of present study concluded that, due to high cost of production and underutilization there was low input-output ratio in Group-I as compared to other groups. The added-value of wood due to milling process was 30.57 percent of gross added value and 17.14 per cent of net added value. It was maximum in Kinni (Albizia procera). Economic efficiency measures indicated that saw milling is a profitable business. Break-even point analysis shows that saw mill owners have to depend on custom milling to make the profit. Thus, by considering the overall levels of net returns, input-output ratio, economic efficiency measures and break-even point of wood process, saw milling venture in Gondia division of Vidarbha region is an economical viable.