Government to help market unsold timber: Minister<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo
\nsaid yesterday the government would help private companies market
\nthe more than 5.9 million cubic meters of logs that remained
\nunsold last year.<\/p>\n
The minister cited the rupiah's sharp depreciation against the
\nU.S. dollar, the prolonged dry season and weakening international
\ndemand for timber products as the main reasons for the failure to
\nsell the logs.<\/p>\n
The ministry charged a reforestation fee of $15 per cubic
\nmeter of timber last year. The government, however, will charge
\nit in rupiah this year following complaints from lumber
\nproducers, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I just proposed to the President to charge for the unsold
\ntimber in rupiah,\" Djamaludin said after meeting with President
\nSoeharto at the latter's residence on Jl. Cendana, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
During the meeting Djamaludin was accompanied by
\nMinister\/State Secretary Moerdiono, Minister of Agriculture
\nSjarifudin Baharsjah, and State Minister of Investment Sanyoto
\nSastrowardoyo.<\/p>\n
The government decided last month to set forest
\nconcessionaires reforestation fund fees in rupiah, starting on
\nJan. 1, instead of dollars. The policy is aimed at providing
\ntimber companies with more certainty in the current economic
\ncrisis.<\/p>\n
Wood and wood-related exports totaled $6.24 billion last year,
\na 25-percent drop from 1996.<\/p>\n
\"The prolonged dry season caused trouble in transporting the
\nwood,\" said the minister.<\/p>\n
Many rivers dried up in last year's drought, which was
\nbelieved to be the worst in the last 50 years. Rivers are the
\nmain way used to transport timber from the forest to the nearest
\nports, especially in Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Demand for plywood from South Korea and Japan, the country's
\nmain buyers, dropped sharply last year because their property
\nsectors, the main users of plywood, were severely hurt by the
\ncurrency crisis.<\/p>\n
Wood-processing companies have complained for years about the
\nrestrictions on plywood exports, where exporters were banned from
\ndealing directly with foreign importers.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Wood Panel Association (Apkindo) coordinates
\nall plywood exports. The association set an export quota for each
\nmember and charged them fees, ranging from $6 to $20 per cubic
\nmeter of exported plywood.<\/p>\n
Following an agreement between the International Monetary Fund
\n(IMF) and President Soeharto on Jan. 15, Minister of Industry and
\nTrade Tunky Ariwibowo issued four decrees which lifted all the
\nrestrictions. Apkindo was dissolved as of Sunday.<\/p>\n
Mohammad \"Bob\" Hasan, the association chairman, supported the
\ngovernment's decision.<\/p>\n
Soeharto also agreed with IMF to incorporate the reforestation
\nfund in the state budget from the 1998\/1999 fiscal year. The fund
\nwas previously included in off-budget accounts. (prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-to-help-market-unsold-timber-minister-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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