Forestry export revenues rose 16% last year

JAKARTA (JP): Export receipts from forestry last year increased 16 percent to US$8.3 billion from US$7.1 billion in 1995, according to Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo.

Djamaludin predicted that export earnings from forestry would continue to rise this year because of an expected increase in pulp and paper production and several other downstream products.

Speaking at a year-end press conference earlier this week, Djamaludin said export earnings from furniture and other products had increased from $458 million in 1995 to $541 million in 1996, while export earnings from plywood had risen from $3.94 billion to 4.73 billion.

Export earnings from pulp and paper products rose from $1.24 billion in 1995 to $1.52 billion in 1996, while those from rattan and rattan products increased to $471 million from $368.1 million.

Djamaludin said the rise in export revenue from forestry was mostly caused by better world prices and increased export volumes, particularly of pulp and paper.

Djamaludin said he was confident that wood-based products and non-wood forestry products, such as gum resin and turpentine, would follow this trend.

He said the growth of the pulp and paper industry, which has taken off in the last two years, was expected to push up export volumes further and, in turn, export revenue from forestry.

Djamaludin said ecology tourism (ecotourism), which was becoming more popular, was expected to become a major cash earner for forestry.

Ecotourism destinations in Indonesia include Tanjung Puting in Central Kalimantan and the Bunaken National Marine Park in North Sulawesi.

"The fact that the increase in exports have come not only from plywood but also from other products proves the government's success in diversifying forestry-based exports," Djamaludin was quoted by Antara as saying.

Plywood exports used to be forestry's main foreign exchange earner.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, plywood exports made up 7.19 percent of the value of the country's non-oil and gas exports between January and August last year.

It was the largest single foreign exchange earner in that category, followed by garment exports (7.14 percent) and footwear exports (4.45 percent).

The state's revenue from reforestation funds and forest royalties last year were Rp 880.7 billion and Rp 592.8 billion, respectively. The state made Rp 806.6 billion and Rp 539.3 billion from them, respectively, in 1995.

Djamaludin predicted that earnings from reforestation funds and forest royalties would increase about 10 percent this year because there would be more land-clearing and forest-conversion projects.

They include the conversion of one million hectares of peat land in Central Kalimantan into rice fields and agricultural plantations.

Reforestation funds and forest royalties are mandatory levies imposed on forest concessionaires to ensure they manage their forests in an environmentally sustainable manner. (pwn)