Pine Timber and Sawlog Prices in Uganda

How much is pine worth, standing, as a sawlog and sawn?

Standing pine, sawlogs and sawn boards are three different prices at three stages, and published figures often mix them. A standing tree is what a buyer pays you before he cuts it. A sawlog is the cut stem section the mill buys. Sawn timber is the board after milling, so its price includes the mill's cost and the loss in sawing. EUCA Eco Consults, in a September 2026 guide, says pine is sold by the cubic metre or by log grade rather than by the tree, and says sawlogs are the highest-value product for a grower, followed by small logs and poles. Sawn timber carries the highest value per unit but the seller carries the processing cost, offcuts and slabs are low, and first thinnings are near zero. The page gives no numbers.

All figures are asking or reported prices, not guarantees. No yield or return is promised here. This page is information, not financial advice.

What is a sawlog?

A sawlog is a log cut from the main stem, large and straight enough to be sawn into boards. Mills pay for diameter and clear length, which is why value falls sharply below sawlog size. We found no Act of Parliament that defines the word, so treat it as trade usage and ask the mill for its minimum diameter and length. FAO's 2020 policy brief models sawlogs, assuming 250 cubic metres per hectare over an 18-year cycle for a typical plantation following SPGS guidelines.

Where does pine go after harvest, and how much is lost in sawing?

The FAO and Uganda Timber Growers Association deck of October 2019 counted about five board mills (plywood, particle board, fibre board and MDF) and 45 mobile mills, and said mobile mill recovery was between 25 and 40 percent, "still very low". FAO's 2020 model uses 35 percent. In plain words, a cubic metre of sawlog becomes about a third of a cubic metre of sawn board, and the rest is slabs, offcuts and sawdust. A buyer who ignores recovery overpays for the stand.

The deck also found excess milling capacity, with many mobile mills not running at full capacity, blamed on new skills, low prices from illegal timber trade and lack of grading standards, and export constraints. Separately, InfoNile reports that Mubende had up to eight sawmills, seven of them Chinese-owned and mainly making veneer, until the June 2023 export directive. EUCA's guide names sawmills, construction, furniture workshops, treatment plants and regional markets as outlets for pine. Whether any of these buy standing pine directly from small owners is a question to put to each mill.

ForestSource lists Esther Mahogany Timber, Busoga Forestry, Nile Plywoods and Global Woods as sawmills in Uganda; its listings do not say what they buy. We name them only as places to ask.

How do the export ban and the supply glut affect pine prices?

Before 2023, the 2019 FAO and UTGA deck projected pine wood flows rising from about 200,000 cubic metres a year in 2019 to 800,000 in 2023, and said the long-term sustainable yield was about one million cubic metres a year. The FAO's 2020 policy brief said Uganda's export restrictions kept timber prices 25 to 30 percent below Kenya, and its model gave, under restricted exports, a net present value of minus USD 466 per hectare; with 30 percent exported it was plus USD 174, and with 50 percent plus USD 634.

Then the 2023 presidential directive stopped timber exports, with sawn timber's status disputed. The full dates and scope are on Uganda Timber Export Ban and Pine Prices. The practical result in 2024 reporting was low prices for mature trees. The FAO supply figures are projections made in 2019 and 2020, not measured volumes. We therefore do not describe pine as scarce or abundant, only that price evidence is thin and old.

How much does it cost to move timber?

We could not verify a cost per kilometre or per trip for moving pine in Uganda, and we found no source for truck sizes and loads, so we publish none. The only figure we can point to is InfoNile's price for a load of logs on a 10-wheeler (the table above), which is a log price, not a haulage rate. Ask each hauler for a written quote that states the loaded distance, the truck type and who pays loading and permits. Haulage is a real cost to the buyer of standing trees and should be deducted from any price you offer or accept.

Why is there no 2025-26 stumpage price, and what will we do about it?

Standing timber is rarely traded in public, mills do not publish what they pay, and EUCA's guides explain price rather than record sales. That leaves an evidence gap for 2025 and 2026. Land & Property forest listings will help. Each shows acreage planted, price per acre, estimated number of trees, price per tree and tree age, and sells the trees only, with the land not included and the harvesting deadline negotiable with the seller. The snapshot of 3 November 2026 holds 93 listings and none are forest listings (Land & Property listings, Nov 2026). When sellers publish them, asking prices by age will be reported with the listing count. Asking prices are not sale prices.

Meanwhile, use ranges only to frame questions. See Eucalyptus Pole Prices in Uganda for eucalyptus, value of pine plantation per acre to size up a stand, Stumpage for how buyers work backwards from the sawn value, and pine tree volume by age for growth. The sale itself is covered in Negotiating the Price of Standing Trees. Land under plantations is priced separately; compare with Land Prices in Uganda, November 2026.

If you own pine, list your trees for sale, land not included. If you are buying, browse forest and tree listings and see Forest Trees for Sale in Uganda for the full guide.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Forest Trees for Sale in Uganda: Standing Pine and Eucalyptus
• Eucalyptus Pole Prices in Uganda (Dated Ranges)
• Uganda Timber Export Ban and Pine Prices
• How Much Is My Pine Plantation Worth?
• Negotiating the Price of Standing Trees
• Land Prices in Uganda, November 2026