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)