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Considered among the most valuable tropical varieties, teak wood is known for its durability, strength, adaptability and beauty. Teak wood is highly resistant to water, termites and other damaging elements such as aggressive chemicals and even fire. For hundreds of years, shipbuilders have been using teak wood for building wooden watercrafts and harbors. It is also being used in chemical industry for barrels, tanks, and other laboratory furniture.
Aside from shipbuilders, woodworkers and furniture makers also consider teak wood the perfect raw material for their projects. This is because teak wood is very easy to work with, either with hand tools or machine tools; and can also be dressed to an impeccable smooth finish. It’s natural, warm golden color and grain gives teak furniture an attractive finish. In addition, its superior strength makes teak viable for a range of pieces that are not compatible with other softer wood varieties.
Due to the numerous advantages of teak wood, it’s not really surprising why it continues to be a top pick for a wide range of woodworking projects – for both indoor and outdoor purposes. And also because of its high quality, teak wood is considered among the most precious wood varieties in the market today.
List of teak wood price across various parts of the world
In India, teak is bought in cubic foot and is priced at about Rs. 3500/- per cubic-foot.
In USA, you can expect $25-$28 per board-foot.
You can take a look at the Burmese teak wood price and other types of teak over here.
How teak is bought?
Teak naturally grows in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines, as well as in India. Many teak plantations can be found in this region although there also plantations in other equatorial regions such as Central America, South America and Central Africa. It takes around four decades before teak can be felled and turned into lumber so the supply is often limited, a major reason why the cost of teak wood is very high.
Depending on the purpose of your purchase, you can buy teak wood either from timber traders or from woodworking shops that sell ready-made or customized teak pieces. It is important that you know where you will be using the teak wood so you can get the right size and shape. For instance, if you need for special wood projects, it would be best to get it from timber from traders. If you need some furniture pieces, then a woodworking shop would be an easier way to buy.
Teak timber logs go a long way before they get to timber marts or the woodworker’s table. Teak trees need to mature, usually twenty to forty years, before they are felled. Once mature, the plantation will have to follow stringent local rules on cutting down trees. Different countries will have different rules before a permit can be granted. After an approval from authorities is secured, the trees can be felled, processed and turned into logs of different dimensions. The logs are then transported to timber marts where these are further cut into specified dimensions. Builders, developers, furniture makers, interior decorators, and other woodworkers can then buy from these timber suppliers.
Another possible way of buying teak wood is from salvages of old furniture or from demolitions of old buildings, ships and shipyards. However, this process can be a bit taxing as you will need to ascertain the authenticity of the wood. Also, you will have to consider if the dimensions of the wood will suit your purpose.
Various factors that affect the teak wood price
There is an international market for teak wood. And just like any other commodities that are traded globally, the prices of teak wood may fluctuate and vary at different regions and at different periods of time. Some factors that can affect the teak wood in global markets include the following:
- Competition
- Exchange rates
- Inventory
- Seasonality
- Tract size
- Tree size and quality
These factors play significant roles in the current prices of teak wood in the global marketplace. The law of supply and demand can be highly felt in the pricing of teak logs.
What does the price depend upon?
But aside from these global factors, there are still other details.
If you are buying raw teak wood, the prices of the wood will be computed based on the block’s dimensions or cubic feet. But determining the price is not as simple as knowing the dimensions of the lumber. When you visit a timber mart, you’ll be surprised to find some teak wood to be priced higher compared to other logs despite having the same dimensions. This is because there are other factors that can affect the price of a specific teak wood.
Other factors that affect the price of teak wood include:
- Origin and age of the lumber
Teak woods can be classified into two based on where they were grown: old-growth teak and plantation teak. The old-growth teak grows naturally in rainforests and is usually felled after it is fully matured, between 15 to 10 years. These are considered superior quality and are thus more expensive than teak wood grown in plantations. Moreover, the older the tree is, the higher the price would be.
- Teak variety
Teak trees grown in different regions have varying qualities such wood strength, grain and color. For instance, teak varieties from Burma tend to be pricier compared to the varieties grown in South American plantations.
- Processing cost
Whether you are purchasing teak logs or teak wood furniture, the processing costs will surely matter when it comes to the final price of the product. Different teak wood suppliers will have varying processing procedures.
- Transport cost
Where the timber logs originate from also affects the price of the teak wood. Those that are transported over long distances will naturally have higher costs compared to those that are sourced locally.
Conclusion
Although teak wood is expensive, it still has a high demand because of its unparalleled qualities. If you are thinking of buying teak wood pieces or furniture, don’t hesitate. Consider yourself investing on a high value item. Whatever it is, you are pretty sure that it will last for generations.
