Wood panel export value to rise 7.5%

Wood panel export value to rise 7.5%

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's wood panel (plywood) exports are
expected to increase in value by 7.5 percent from US$3.99 billion
this year to $4.29 billion next year, said A. Tjipto
Wigjoprajito, the executive chairman of the Association of
Indonesian Wood Panel Producers.

"Indonesia's total forestry products export value will rise by
7.25 percent from $6.87 billion this year to $7.36 billion next
year," he was quoted by Antara as saying on Friday.

Tjipto said that the export value of sawn timber will rise by
4.82 percent from $1.02 billion this year to $1.07 billion next
year and wood furniture will increase by five percent from $420
million to $442 million.

He said that the export of rattan products will grow by five
percent from $354 million this year to $372 million and pulp and
paper will rise by 10 percent from $1.07 billion to $1.18
billion.

"We're not talking about export volume, but export value,"
Tjipto said in response to forestry minister Djamaludin
Suryohadikusumo's statement on Thursday.

Djamaludin predicted that the volume and exports of
Indonesia's plywood production next year would likely be stagnant
due to a lack of raw materials as the standing stocks of natural
forests have declined.

Djamaluddin therefore called on wood-based companies to
diversify their wood products and optimize the use of timber from
natural forests.

He suggested that wood from natural forests be used mostly for
the top layers of wood panels.

The association predicted a stronger demand for plywood in the
international markets provided that the economies of most
developed countries experience a strong recovery.

According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the
country's plywood exports have been declining steadily for the
last few years. In the January-August period, for example,
plywood exports decreased by 11.35 percent to $2.29 billion from
$2.59 billion in the corresponding period of 1994.

In the same period, exports of sawn timber decreased by 7.9
percent to $304.07 million, while exports of other wood products
increased by 17.5 percent to $697.62 million from $593.62
million.

Tjipto said that Indonesia will increase the price for plywood
exports to China by 7.5 percent, from $420 per cubic meter now to
$440 per cubic meter next year.

Indonesia, the world's largest plywood supplier, produces
about 10 million cubic meters of plywood annually.

Major importers of Indonesian plywood include China, Japan,
the United States, Canada, and the European countries. (04)