Indonesian wood industry not able to meet demands from Japan

May 03, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Indonesian wood producers are unable to meet high demands from Japan for processed wood and its derivative products since the Indonesian forestry industry is facing a raw material crisis. Data by the Department of Forestry revealed last year Indonesia could export 2.42 million meter cubic of plywood or 49% of Japan's total import, while Malaysia and China could only export around two million meter cubic and 334,021 meter cubic, respectively. This year, it is estimated that the Indonesian forestry industry can only export 2% (around 216,499 meter cubic) of Japan's total import of solid sawed wood that reaches 9.5 million meter cubic. Director of Forestry Produces Marketing and Development at the Department of Forestry Banjar Yulianto Laban admitted that Indonesia only relied on plywood as a major export product for Japanese market, while ignoring high-added value processed wood market that had been dominated by other countries. Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Wood Panel Association (Apkindo) Abbas Adhar explained that the difficulty to meet demands from Japan was caused by raw material scarcity condition in the domestic forestry industry. Since the government applied the soft landing policy, he continued, many industries had to downsize their prodicution capacities to below 50%. Abbas added that wood supplies in the market were scarce and their prices soared. "Timber wood increases from IDR800,000 ($83) per meter cubic to IDR1 million ($104) and Merbau wood from IDR1.5 million ($157) to IDR2 million ($209)," he informed.