Worldwide, thousands of timber species, each with its own properties, characteristics and applications, have been identified. Nevertheless, only a relatively small part is used for commercial purposes. Through (certification of) sustainable forest management, an effort is made to balance the composition of species of the forest. This increasingly brings 'new' timber types to the market. An excellent development for the forest, but it appears that introducing these species to the market is not easy. A reason for Probos to ask Boris Bakker, an International Timber Trade student, to find answers to the following questions: how can timber traders and processors better respond to the use of lesser known species and which resources can help them?
Mark van Benthem and Boris Bakker (intern Probos), 2011