REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) said it is optimistic that the country's exports of timber products would increase in 2018 over exports in the previous years. Secretary General of the Ministry Bambang Hendroyono said in the past five years the country's exports of timber products have tended to increase - from US$6 billion in 2012 to US$11 billion in 2017.
"In January, 2018 alone exports of timber products already reached US$1 billion in value . Until the end of the year the export value is expected to reach at least US$12 billion," Bambang said here on Thursday, adding the export value did not include log exports.
Meanwhile, general chairman of the Indonesian Association of Forestry Companies (APHI) Indroyono Soesilo said the association is ready to boost timber exports.
Indroyono said the country's exports of timber products such as paper, pulp, plywood, wooden furniture, processed timber, handicrafts, and particle boards have increased in value over the past several years.
Indroyono asked the Forestry Ministry to help in expanding the export market of timber products, and encourage more investment in the forest related sectors .
In the future, business in the forestry sector would not be only forest wood-based industries but also agro-forestry, eco-tourism and bioenergy industries.
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