New seeds ready to help pulp, paper industry

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.