Who We Introduce
This page is written for four kinds of buyer, and each needs something different.
| Buyer type | What they usually want | What we do | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawmills and timber traders | Pine or eucalyptus of sawlog size, bought standing or felled | A measured block and a value range before you make an offer | Calculator for your top offer |
| Plantation and forest investors | A whole plantation or a large block | A valuation of the whole block, not an opinion on title | Lease or buy forestry land; forestry land prices |
| Export buyers (EU importers and their agents) | Growers who can show where and when the wood was grown | The same as for any buyer. Whether exports are allowed in 2026 is unconfirmed (see the FAQ), and we cannot promise approval | EU dates, below |
| Power-line pole buyers: treatment plants and pole suppliers, including utility pole plants | Straight eucalyptus stems of the length and class a treatment plant specifies | An inventory of the block before felling. We do not sell, treat or stock poles | Pole species, below |
Selling trees rather than buying them? See how growers get offers from buyers and whether to sell standing or harvest first.
What We Do and What We Do Not
We do
- Introduce you to growers we work with whose stands match your brief.
- If you want one, run a forest inventory of the block, with the method and the sampling error written down.
- Give a valuation as a range, with the assumptions behind it.
- Plan and supervise the harvest, from the harvest plan to the final load, so that what leaves the block matches what was agreed.
- Help you, or the seller, obtain the permits and certificates needed to transport the timber legally. We work closely with the National Forestry Authority (NFA).
We do not
- Hold, sell or list timber, poles or plantations, or publish a list of growers or blocks.
- Set or pass on a grower's asking price. Our valuation is our estimate, not an offer from the grower.
- Guarantee volume, quality or price. An inventory is an estimate from sample plots and is reported with its sampling error.
- Give legal advice or an opinion on title.
- Promise that an export will be allowed.
- Source firewood, charcoal, or building and construction poles.
Who We Act For and How We Are Paid
We are a neutral introducer. We put buyers and growers in touch and act for neither side in the deal. Every job, including an introduction, is paid for by whoever commissions it, at a fee agreed per job.
An inventory and valuation is paid for by whoever commissions it, buyer or grower, and the report is addressed to that client, who decides whether to share it. If a grower shows you a report they commissioned from us, it was prepared for the grower: you are free to commission your own, or to have ours checked by an independent forester of your choice.
Harvest planning and supervision, and help with transport permits, are engaged by whichever side needs them, under an agreement for that job. You may use another forester instead of us, or alongside us.
How an Introduction Works
Each step ends with something you can check.
| Step | What happens | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brief | You send the brief below. | A request we can match |
| 2. Introduction | We compare your brief with the stands of the growers we work with, then arrange first contact and a site visit, or tell you nothing fits. | A block to visit, or a clear no |
| 3. Inventory (optional) | If you commission one, sample plots are measured across the block by a stated method. | Estimated volume, with its sampling error stated |
| 4. Valuation (optional) | The measurements become a value range. | A range with its assumptions written down |
| 5. Agreement | You and the grower agree terms. Have your own lawyer check the contract; we do not give legal advice. | A contract naming the block, the price basis and how volume will be measured |
| 6. Supervised harvest | If you ask us to, we plan the harvest with you and check the work against the agreement through to the final load: volumes reconciled with what was paid for, transport permits in place (we can help obtain them), the site left as agreed. | Harvest records for your file |
Your Brief
Copy this, fill it in and send it. The first five lines are enough for us to say yes or no; we need the last three before we introduce you to a grower.
What a Careful Grower Will Want to See
A grower may sell a mature block once in a rotation, so expect to be vetted as closely as you vet the trees. Have these answers ready:
- Who you are. Company registration, and growers you have bought from who will take a phone call.
- How you pay. Payment terms in writing, with the date of each payment.
- Who cuts. Your own crew or a subcontractor, and how that crew is covered for accidents.
- Your authorisations. What you hold to harvest and move timber.
- The site afterwards. What happens to branches, tracks, drains and stumps when you leave.
- Access and timing. When you will work, and how vehicles will reach the block in the rains.
- Paperwork for shipping. If the wood leaves Uganda, what you will need from the grower, listed before anyone signs.
What You Receive
We report what we measure and how we measured it, so another forester could check the work.
| Deliverable | What it contains | When |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory report | Plot layout and coordinates, sampling intensity and method; the net stocked area and how it was measured; a stem count by planting year, compared with the area claimed; volume by grade; and the sampling error, stated rather than guessed. Method as in our forest inventory guide. | Before you make an offer |
| Valuation range | A low and a high value, with each assumption stated so you can change one and see the effect. The report names the prices it uses and where they came from. | With the inventory report |
| Harvest supervision notes | A running record of what leaves the block, compared with the agreement. | During the harvest |
Poles and EU Shipments: What to Check First
Power-line poles: plan on eucalyptus
The 2002 edition of EAS 322, the East African standard for power and telecommunication poles, says poles shall be made from the species it lists (clause 5.1): Eucalyptus saligna or E. grandis, East African pencil cedar, and temperate conifers such as Scots pine, Corsican pine and Douglas fir. No tropical pine is listed, so Pinus caribaea, P. oocarpa and P. patula do not qualify under that edition.[1]
A second edition has been drafted. The 2022 draft states that it cancels and replaces the 2002 edition, lists eucalyptus species and Scots pine, and allows other species only if they meet the standard's requirements, which include a minimum bending strength (clause 5.1).[2] We have not seen an adopted version, and the most recent annual report we found from Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) still lists a US EAS 322:2002 product certificate for its pole plant.[3] Whether Uganda's plantation pines could pass is unconfirmed, so for power-line poles, plan on eucalyptus.
Poles must also be seasoned before treatment. The 2002 edition requires a batch average of no more than 28% moisture, with no pole above 30% (clause 9). It also notes that eucalyptus needs longer to season (clause 4).[1]
Shipping to the EU: the dates
The EU deforestation regulation applies from 30 December 2026.[4] Micro and small operators established by 31 December 2024 have until 30 June 2027, but not for products the EU Timber Regulation already covered, which include logs and sawn wood.[4][5] Expect EU buyers to ask which plots the wood came from, so ask the grower early what planting and harvest records exist; the importer, not us, decides whether the evidence is enough.
Two more checks are in our guide to buying standing pine: who may sell trees on NFA licence land, and the export position and pine supply.