Jordan is showing increased demand for interior wood products as its construction sector continues to witness rapid development amidst growing economic stability, said an expert.

Roderick Wiles, American Hardwood Export Council (Ahec) director for Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Oceania, said that Ahec has identified Jordan as a growing market for American hardwoods, given its contribution to the $69.3 million worth of US hardwood exports to the Mena region last year.

With aims to help develop the market further, Ahec, in partnership with local importer and distributor A A Kattan & Sons, will conduct an intensive workshop on species and lumber grading on June 5 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jabal Amman.

Wiles will discuss the availability and wide variety of American hardwood species as well as their important environmental credentials and the long history of the US in good forest governance. He will also address various issues related to the carpentry and joinery sector in the country.

The workshop follows similar activities undertaken by Ahec aimed at elevating awareness and knowledge of American hardwoods across the region.

“We are taking significant steps to raise awareness in new market sectors for American hardwoods in the region, as more governments in the Middle East undertake major initiatives to address calls for sustainability,” said Wiles.

“The workshop we will be conducting in Jordan is designed to demonstrate the efficiency of the rules used to grade American hardwoods, and the importance of proof of sustainability amidst the growing demand for assurances that wood is both legal and sustainable.”

As Jordan’s construction industry sees large-scale progress, American hardwoods, with their great variety of colour, grain and character, and remarkable colour contrasts, offer a wide range of design options for architects and specifiers within this rapidly growing sector, a statement said.

“The initiatives we are taking in the region have resulted in growing recognition for US hardwoods among specifiers, importers, retailers, and developers of major construction projects,” concluded Wiles. – TradeArabia News Service