Riau exports charcoal

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)