ACCRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Forestry Commission of Ghana announced on Friday that the country's total production of timber and timber products in 2025 stood at 952,000 cubic meters.

Hugh Brown, the commission's chief executive, said during the launch of the 2026 Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative that the volumes translated into an estimated value of 260 million U.S. dollars, including both exports and local supplies.

Brown noted that with an estimated cover of 6.4 million hectares, the forestry sector contributes significantly to the socio-economic development of Ghana.

An estimated 20 percent of Ghana's population depends directly or indirectly on forests for their livelihoods, food and health needs, he added.

To sustain this contribution, Brown said the government introduced the initiative in 2025 to boost the forest sector economy and ensure that the country's forest cover remains sustainable amid resource exploitation.

"In 2025, a total of 23,600 hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes across the country were put under restoration through enrichment planting and forest plantation development," Brown said.

"A recent survival survey conducted in forest reserves within the areas planted in 2025 presented a success rate of between 65 percent and 85 percent in the high forest zone and 40 percent and 78 percent in the northern savanna zone," he added. ■