Kobe quake to help RI timber sales<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An executive predicted that Japan, rocked last
\nweek by the worst earthquake in 50 years, will import more plywood
\nto reconstruct damaged houses in Kobe.<\/p>\n
"It's a good moment for Indonesia to concentrate on plywood
\nexports to Japan to increase our market share there," Citra
\nGunawan, president of PT Surya Dumai Industry which plans to go
\npublic this year, told journalists on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He predicted that Japan would spend more money for plywood
\nthan before. Early estimates show that it would cost $10 billion to
\n$20 billion to repair the damages in Kobe.<\/p>\n
The extra demand from Japan is also expected to push prices of
\nplywood up again after dropping to the current level of $380 per
\ncubic meter, which represents a 32.14 percent drop from $560 in the
\nthird quarter of 1993.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the world's largest plywood exporter, produces
\nabout 10 million cubic meters of plywood annually, most of which is
\nexported to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.<\/p>\n
A trade official at the Japanese embassy said recently that
\nIndonesia's share in Japan's total plywood imports remained at
\naround 84 percent last year, almost the same as 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
Citra noted that Japan remains the most lucrative plywood
\nmarket as some 60 percent of its annual demand of nine million
\ncubic meters of plywood are imported.<\/p>\n
"Apart from the earthquake, Japan serves as an especially
\npotential market for plywood as most Japanese prefer wood products
\nto others," Citra said.<\/p>\n
Official data show that Indonesia's plywood exports fell by
\nnine percent during the January-September period of last year to
\nUS$2.8 billion from the corresponding period in 1993.<\/p>\n
Analysts argued that the drop was caused by low demand from
\nrecession-stricken Japan and increased supply from Malaysia.<\/p>\n
A report said that in 1994 Japan imported about 4.04 million
\ncubic meters of plywood, of which 3.3 million cubic meters were
\nimported from Indonesia. (rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kobe-quake-to-help-ri-timber-sales-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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