Indonesia: Forestry ministry to allow log exports

Bambang Hendroyono, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), has said the decision to allow plantation log exports was made because the volume being produced was more than the domestic industry can absorb and that the quality was suitable for the export market.

Also, allowing log exports will create competition and thus yield better prices for the local planation log producers which will allow plantations owners to invest in more advanced management and harvesting systems to raise productivity.

However, the move to allow log exports has drawn criticism from the Chairman of the Association of Sawn Timber and Processed Timber Manufacturers Softwood Producers (ISWA), Soewarni, who said why, when more than 30 countries have banned log exports, would Indonesia think to open the door for this trade?

Soewarni expressed concern that poor supervision of the log export trade could provide a loophole for trade in illegal timber.