Some new species were recently added to the list of CITES Appendix II species. The two that are often used for guitar building are Padauk and Khaya. Here are the specifics of the listings:

African Padauk – Pterocarpus spp. (African populations) Inclusion in Appendix II CITES with note #17: Means logs or logs, sawn timber, veneer sheets, plywood, and processed wood. Effective February 23, 2023.  Note #17 also applies to the already listed species Pterocarpus erinaceus and Pterocarpus tinctorius from the entry into force of the genus listing

African Khaya ( Khaya spp. (African populations) Inclusion in Appendix II CITES with note #17: Means logs or logs, sawn timber, veneer sheets, plywood, and processed wood. Effective February 23, 2023.

Once thought to be plentiful substitutes for Rosewood and Mahogany respectively, these two wood species are headed toward CITES II protections in late February 2023.

We will continue to carry them, but like other CITES II woods (Indian Rosewood and other dalbergias, Honduran Mahogany, Bubinga) we will no longer be able to ship them to our international customers. Price increases will likely follow as well. These two wood species are stellar tonewoods. Those who have experimented with them become easy converts. We have long recommended them to customers who, because of the CITES restrictions on Rosewood and Mahogany, were not able to purchase these woods. Sadly, we will soon have to limit those recommendations to domestic customers.

Luthiers Mercantile is here to help! We work with only the most trusted suppliers and we do all the heavy lifting when it comes to the complex job of legally importing CITES-protected species.

The future of lutherie is bound to bend away from being a showcase for fancy, exotic woods. Count on tomorrow’s luthiers shifting their focus towards advanced design ideas, intricate woodworking detail, and mastery of evolved tone production. In all these disciplines, you can count on Luthiers Mercantile to provide the tooling, the parts, and the expertise to help our customers walk fine instrument-making into the future.