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The sawmilling industry in South Africa consists of both formal and informal sawmills. How these sawmills operate and their costs of operation often differ from each other. This challenges regulations, product costings, and product offerings, as this often differs for the players. There is an urgent need to improve the competitiveness of the sawmilling industry; however, despite the various efforts from multiple stakeholders, the industry remains globally and even locally uncompetitive. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the competitiveness of the South African sawmill industry and how those factors impact the industry’s sustainable development. Research questions were formulated to achieve the objective. The study followed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with seven personnel working in the South African sawmill industry. A non-probability purposive sampling method was employed to choose participants for the study based on their positions. By looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the PESTLE factors affecting the competitiveness of the South African sawmilling industry, we were able to see that there are several factors at play in the sawmill industry. The study highlighted that by looking at the sawmilling industry holistically, the stakeholders (private, public, communities, government, academia, etc) can work together to address the challenges affecting the sawmilling industry. This can be achieved by incentivising compliance with the regulations that support sustainability and competitiveness in the sawmilling industry. Future research should explore the effectiveness and success stories of initiatives, regulations and programs that address challenges in the sawmilling industry and see how they can be improved for sustainable development.

The sawmilling industry in South Africa consists of both formal and informal sawmills. How these sawmills operate and their costs of operation often differ from each other. This challenges regulations, product costings, and product offerings, as this often differs for the players. There is an urgent need to improve the competitiveness of the sawmilling industry; however, despite the various efforts from multiple stakeholders, the industry remains globally and even locally uncompetitive. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the competitiveness of the South African sawmill industry and how those factors impact the industry’s sustainable development. Research questions were formulated to achieve the objective. The study followed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with seven personnel working in the South African sawmill industry. A non-probability purposive sampling method was employed to choose participants for the study based on their positions. By looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the PESTLE factors affecting the competitiveness of the South African sawmilling industry, we were able to see that there are several factors at play in the sawmill industry. The study highlighted that by looking at the sawmilling industry holistically, the stakeholders (private, public, communities, government, academia, etc) can work together to address the challenges affecting the sawmilling industry. This can be achieved by incentivising compliance with the regulations that support sustainability and competitiveness in the sawmilling industry. Future research should explore the effectiveness and success stories of initiatives, regulations and programs that address challenges in the sawmilling industry and see how they can be improved for sustainable development.