Forest royalties set by April

Forest royalties set by April

JAKARTA (JP): The government will announce whether it will
increase forest royalties by April 1, forestry minister
Djamaludin Suryohadikusuma said yesterday.

"We will see the capability of forestry concessionaires to pay
royalties before deciding on any increase," he said.

The government usually increases forest royalties twice a year
-- in April/May and October. The last increase was 10 percent and
came last September after a rise in plywood prices and inflation.

The government did not increase the royalties in April/May
last year because of weak plywood prices on the world market.

Djamaludin said recently that the government wanted to
increase royalties by an average of 5 percent in line with rises
in world timber prices.

The rates of forest royalties vary depending on the location
of the resources. Forests easily accessible at places with good
facilities will be charged higher royalty rates.

For example, royalties on timber from Sumatra, Kalimantan,
Sulawesi and Maluku are now set at Rp 25,900 a cubic meter, while
royalties on timber from Irian Jaya, East Nusa Tenggara, Bali and
East Timor are set at Rp 20,900 a cubic meter.

The Director General of Forest Utilization, Titus Sarijanto,
said discussions were still in progress.

The government collected Rp 593 billion (US$247 million) in
forest royalties last year 1996, up from Rp 539 billion in 1995
and Rp 428 billion in 1994.

The main provinces contributing forest royalties last year
were Central Kalimantan (Rp 95 billion), East Kalimantan (Rp 87
billion), West Kalimantan (Rp 32 billion), Riau (Rp 39 billion)
and Irian Jaya (Rp 28 billion).

According to a government decree, 45 percent of royalties will
go to local administrations, 20 percent for land and property
tax, 15 percent for national forestry development and 20 percent
to the state coffers. (10)