Britain may lift ban on Indonesian plywood

Britain may lift ban on Indonesian plywood

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian plywood products may be allowed to enter the British
market again after officials met with British buyers to clarify
allegations the plywood was made from illegal timber.

Forestry Industry Revitalization Agency (BRIK) head Soewarni
told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday British buyers had indicated
they would revoke the ban after the Indonesian government
recently issued a statement over the legality of the plywood.

"We have recently met, and convinced the buyers along with the
British government and timber associations over the legality of
the wood used for the plywood. They appeared to have agreed with
us," Soewarni said.

She said during the two-day meeting on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6, the
Indonesian delegation met with the Tropical Forest Trust, the
British International Development Department, global
environmental group Greenpeace, the Environmental Investigation
Agency, Down to Earth and industry representatives.

According to Soewarni, the businesses, timber associations and
British government officials would visit the country in April or
May, to ensure Indonesian had adopted timber sustainability
requirements set by the foreign buyers and associations.

Britain has banned Indonesian plywood products since November
last year following a report by Greenpeace, which alleged about
90 percent of Indonesian plywood exported to Britain was made of
illegally cut timber.

Buyers could not accept the plywood because the British
government had signed an agreement with the Indonesian government
two years ago to reject all forestry-based products suspected of
being produced from illegally cut logs, the BRIK said.

At least 17 local companies businesses had been affected by
the ban, the BRIK said.

Indonesia exported about five million tons of plywood last
year, generating revenue of about US$450 million.