Illegal logging 'caused Rp 31b loss'

SEMARANG: State forestry company Perhutani I in Central Java lost an estimated Rp 31.72 billion (US$3.5 million) because of illegal logging last year, the company's boss says.

The amount was less compared to 2003, when the company suffered Rp 61.66 billion loss, company head Sofyan Hanafi said in Semarang on Monday.

He said the decrease was because there were few loggable trees left in Central Java's forests and there was less illegal logging going on.

"We are trying to develop alternative trees to replace teak wood in the furniture industry," he said. -- JP