Government sees no necessity for log imports
Government sees no necessity for log imports
JAKARTA (JP): The government considers the importation of logs
to overcome the current log shortages faced by the plywood
industry unnecessary as yet, Minister of Forestry Djamaludin
Suryohadikusumo said.
Djamaludin told journalists after reporting to President
Soeharto yesterday that log shortages will eventually ease when
the current rainy season ends, some time in April or May.
Log supplies will also increase in the near future when the
government starts clearing forests in Central Kalimantan for its
program on creating one million hectares of rice fields,
Djamaludin said.
The government has allocated funds in the 1996/1997 budget
plan for the creation of the one million hectare rice fields,
which is expected to be completed within three fiscal years.
Djamaludin projected that the forest clearing in Central
Kalimantan will supply at least six million cubic meters of logs
a year.
"If the distribution of these logs is manageable and the price
is right, I think log importation is unnecessary," Djamaludin
noted.
The minister said earlier that Indonesia was considering
importing logs for its wood-based industries, especially the
plywood industry, which could no longer get enough timber from
existing natural forests.
He contended that Indonesia's intention to import logs was not
because the country's forests were seriously depleted but because
the government was concerned over the condition of the forests.
Indonesia, the world's largest plywood exporter, produces
about 10 million cubic meters of plywood annually. Exports of
wood products, mostly plywood, account for some 14 percent of the
country's total export earnings.
Exports of logs have been banned by the government since 1985.
Exports of wood products are now limited to commodities which
have added value.
Indonesia has approximately 100 wood-based companies, with a
total processing capacity of 44.5 million cubic meters of timber
per annum.
Responding to Djamaludin's statement on the possibility of log
imports, acting minister of the Malaysian state of Serawak,
Tengah Ali Hassan, hinted here earlier this week that the state
is ready to export logs to Indonesia.
Djamaludin said yesterday that log imports from Serawak would
reduce the competitiveness of Indonesia's plywood because
imported logs are more expensive than domestic ones.
He said Serawak's logs sell at US$180 per cubic, while the
prices of local logs range from $120 to $130 per cubic meter.
Serawak's logs are subject to export tax of $50 to $60 per cubic
meter.
Log production from Serawak is currently 16.5 million cubic
meters, of which 45 percent is exported, mainly to Japan.
Djamaludin pointed out that the Japanese wood-based industry
can absorb the expensive logs from Serawak because they operate
very efficiently. (rid)