Bisnis.com, JAKARTA – Exports of plywood or plywood to Japan get a special market because it meets the required quality, namely JAS Factory. In addition, Indonesian plywood has more value because it has timber legality and verification system (SVLK). According to Handjaja, Chairman of the Indonesian Wood Panel Association (Apkindo), through a press release, currently in Japan, Indonesian plywood products still have to compete with similar products from China, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Apkindo data shows that Indonesia is the second largest plywood exporter in the world after China, with the export value of plywood worldwide reaching US$1.7 billion in 2019, and US$635 million in foreign exchange derived from exports to Japan. On that occasion, Makoto Daimon from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, explained that the export of Indonesian forestry products to Japan is still open with the implementation of the Japanese Timber Law, known as the Clean Wood Act.
However, this is not a problem for Indonesian forest products that have implemented the SVLK, which has also been recognized by the European Union as FLEGT. Meanwhile, Kiyota Okada, from the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, explained that there is an opportunity for Indonesia to export plywood because products from Malaysia and the Philippines to Japan tend to decline due to the difficulty of raw materials. Therefore, Indonesian plywood entrepreneurs hope that there will be a policy on importing non-new machines for this industry, which is being prepared by the government to be published soon so that exports of Indonesian plywood products will be more positive. The Forestry Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo, Riva Rovani, said that there is great potential to further increase the value of plywood exports to Japan, but further strategies are needed. In the long term, he continued, there are certain plywood products whose demand is increasing in Japan, such as 2.4 mm thick wood, known as Usumono plywood. In addition, there is export potential for non-plywood products, namely wood chips, parquet flooring from wood, and wood charcoal which are very much needed by Japanese consumers today. “Therefore, the forestry industry in Indonesia needs to immediately diversify its wood products,” said Riva.
