Plywood group wants ban on log exports

JAKARTA (JP): The government should impose a ban on the export of logs because unrestricted shipments in the last three years have starved local plywood manufacturers of their prime raw material, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported on Monday.

Abbas Adhar, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Plywood producers (Apkindo), said the government's decision to slash the export tax on logs, from 200 percent to 10 percent since 1998, has led to a massive outflow of logs from the country.

Plywood producers in China and Malaysia have been using Indonesian timber to increase their own exports in the last three years at a time when Indonesia's own plywood exports plunged, Abbas was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The government was forced to slash export tariffs beginning on Feb.1 1998 as part of its commitment to reform the economy in return for a massive bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In spite of lower export tariffs, some Indonesian logs are still being smuggled out to reach foreign producers, Abbas said.

Without government intervention over log exports and smuggling, Indonesia's plywood exports would continue to decline in coming years, he said. (03)