New seeds ready to help pulp, paper industry

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin

Researchers at the Ministry of Forestry have developed superior quality seeds of the acacia mangium and eucalyptus pelitta trees, which can increase timber as a raw material for the country's ailing pulp and paper industry.

The director of the Forest Biotechnology and Tree Improvement Research and Development Agency at the ministry, Nur Masripatin, told The Jakarta Post last week that the seeds could produce trees that can be harvested in just three years time and provide a higher yield volume of up to 40 cubic meters per hectare per year.

In comparison, existing trees are harvested after five years and only provide a yield volume of 15 cubic meters per hectare per year.

She added that the improved seeds could produce 70 percent of the pulp for every one cubic meter of processed wood.

Since last year, the country's wood-based industry has been suffering from a sharp decline in timber amid growing pressure from environmentalists worldwide and rampant smuggling of logs out of the country.

The government has issued a moratorium on logging, which effectively bans logging in natural forests, thus forcing the timber industry to use wood from forest estates.

But the supply of raw material from forest estates does not adequately fulfill the industry's production capacity of about 30 million cubic meters per year. The lack of raw material is clouding the future of the industry.

The Ministry of Forestry started its research on developing superior quality seeds five years ago. It has so far invested about Rp 100 million per year. A part of the funds comes from state-owned forestry company PT Inhutani and several privately owned pulp and paper companies.

These companies have obtained the rights to market the superior seeds.

The acacia seeds, which are suitable for highland plantations, are priced at Rp 2.5 million (US$281) per kilogram, while the eucalyptus, which is best planted in lowland areas, costs Rp 10 million per kilogram.

One kilogram equals about one million seeds.

Some companies import quality seeds from Australia but at a more expensive price of about $600 per kg for the acacia seeds, and $1,900 per kg for eucalyptus.

The agency will continue to improve the quality of the seeds in a bid to boost the yield volume to 70 cubic meters per hectare per year. It has obtained a budget of Rp 1 billion for five years of research.

The agency is also conducting research into enabling the acacia tree to be used as an alternative raw material for woodwork and furniture, replacing the depleting Shorea spp tree, which is locally called the Meranti tree.