Forestry export revenues rose 16% last year

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)