Plywood makers hail Japanese tariff cut

Plywood makers hail Japanese tariff cut

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian plywood exporters yesterday welcomed
Japan's plan to lower its import duties on plywood.

Sudradjat D.P., a member of the advisory board of the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said that
the tariff reduction will have a favorable impact on the economic
development of Indonesia.

Japan plans to reduce its import duties on plywood next year
by about two to five percent, in conjunction with the
implementation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT).

Teruo Odajima, executive director of the Association of
Japanese Plywood Manufacturers, and Kanemi Matsuki, executive
director of the Japanese Plywood Importers Association, said that
the import duty on plywood with a thickness of up to six
millimeters will be reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent.

The import duty on plywood with a thickness of more than six
millimeters will be reduced from 10 percent to eight percent.

According to Sudradjat, who is also the director a major
plywood producer PT Djajanti Group, Indonesian plywood still
dominates the world's plywood market.

Indonesia exports its plywood to 50 countries, he said.

Data from the Japanese Plywood Importers Association shows
that in the first five months of this year, Japan's imports of
Indonesian plywood increased by 4.4 percent to 1.3 million cubic
meters over the same period last year. This ranks Indonesia
fourth among the largest plywood exporters to Japan. The other
major plywood exporters to Japan are Malaysia, the Philippines
and China. (05)