Riau exports charcoal

JAKARTA (JP): Riau's provincial government is encouraging investors to develop the charcoal industry to meet increasing demand from Thailand and Malaysia.

Rusli Zainal, regent of Indragiri Hilir, the largest producer of charcoal from coconut shells in the province, urged local investors to invest in carbonization processing to produce activated charcoal.

An official of the provincial investment coordinating board, Azwin Yacob, said that furniture and automotive industries in Thailand and Malaysia needed significant supplies of charcoal and coconut fiber.

"Industrialists in Thailand and Malaysia need supplies immediately," Yacob was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia daily on Friday as saying in Pekanbaru.

Media reports said the automotive industry in Thailand showed significant recovery and car sales rose 50 percent from last year when the country was mired in its worst economic crisis of recent years.

Charcoal and coconut fiber are used mostly for sofa-coating and car upholstery. (01)