Soeharto wants wood exports boosted

Soeharto wants wood exports boosted

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday urged Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo to boost the country's exports of plywood and pulp, without sacrificing the forests' sustainability.

Djamaludin told journalists after a meeting with Soeharto that the president was concerned about the decrease in the country's exports of a number of commodities, including wood products.

"As the growth of exports of several commodities has been decreasing, especially wood products, we are advised ... to boost exports without destroying our forests," said Djamaludin, who was accompanied by senior officials of his ministry in the meeting with the President.

Official data shows that Indonesian exports of wood products decreased by 2.6 percent in the January-August period of last year to US$3.5 billion from the corresponding period in 1993. The decline resulted mainly from a drop in plywood exports, which fell by 7.9 percent to $2.6 billion.

To offset the decline in plywood exports, Soeharto asked the minister to promote the further development of the pulp industry as its prospects were good.

The price of pulp on the world market has been increasing recently, reaching $700 per ton, an increase of almost 60 percent from the last few years.

Djamaludin said that to support the export growth of pulp, the government has approved 13 new pulp projects, whose construction is expected to commence within the next five to 10 years with an annual production capacity of about 450,000 tons per plant.

Given its abundant resources, the minister said, Indonesia has great potential for future exports of wood products, provided it can maintain the sustainability of its forests.

"Although we still have abundant forests, many illegal logging activities are continuing," Djamaludin warned.

He said the immediate task of the forestry industry is maintaining the supply level of raw materials to the existing plants, especially plywood plants.

The minister said the government will support the development of industrial forests by private sector companies so that the felling of trees in natural forests will be minimized.

"We have already spurred the development of industrial forests. However, logs from our virgin forests will still be dominant among our forestry products for the next 10 years," Djamaludin said. (rid)