RI retains wood market despite export stoppage<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Many of Indonesia's wood panel producers stopped
\nexporting for about three weeks over the Idul Fitri period to
\noverhaul their production facilities, a plywood executive said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
The executive chairman of the Association of Indonesian Wood
\nPanel Producers, A. Tjipto Wigjoprajitno, said other exporting
\nnations had not taken over Indonesia's markets during the
\noverhaul.<\/p>\n
Tjipto said the overhaul, which was done during the Idul Fitri
\nholidays last month, caused a slight drop in production.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia would now focus its exports on European
\nmarkets.<\/p>\n
In December and January most of Indonesia's exports went to
\nJapan.<\/p>\n
This caused exporters to delay shipments to Europe.<\/p>\n
\"In the past the European market was rather neglected. But now
\nwe cannot delay exports to them anymore,\" Tjipto said.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia would supply the market as usual when
\nproduction levels returned to normal.<\/p>\n
Plywood, a wood panel product, is Indonesia's second largest
\nnon-oil and gas foreign currency earner after textiles and
\ntextile products.<\/p>\n
The association's data shows wood panel exports reached 8.5
\nmillion cubic meters worth US$4 billion last year.<\/p>\n
Up to 5.52 million cubic meters, worth $2.56 billion, went to
\nEast Asian countries, including Japan. The rest went to North
\nAmerica, Europe, Middle East and Asia.<\/p>\n
The volume of wood panel exported last year was slightly lower
\nthan in 1995 when Indonesia exported 8.75 million cubic meters.
\nBut the value was higher than the $3.88 billion earned in 1995.<\/p>\n
Plywood exports peaked in 1993 when export volume reached 9.71
\nmillion cubic meters worth $4.59 billion.<\/p>\n
Tjipto said wood panel exports to Japan in January reached
\n330,000 cubic meters, of which 130,000 cubic meters were plywood.<\/p>\n
The rest consisted of particle board and block board which are
\nmade from waste wood and small-diameter timber.<\/p>\n
Tjipto said world demand for block board was strong.<\/p>\n
\"Apart from Japan, demand for block board has also grown in
\nthe Middle East and Europe,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Block board is used mostly in the furniture industry.<\/p>\n
Tjipto said that during the January-February period demand for
\nblock board almost doubled.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's block board production capacity reached about a
\nmillion cubic meters a year. About half of this is exported.<\/p>\n
The association's vice chairman, Abbas Adhar, said earlier
\nthis week that Japanese businesses wanted to see Indonesian
\nplywood price's drop because of the depreciation of the yen
\nagainst the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
But he said that so far the yen's depreciation had not
\naffected the volume of Indonesia's plywood exports.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesian plywood producers wanted to maintain prices
\nbecause the yen had not dropped low enough. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-retains-wood-market-despite-export-stoppage-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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