According to the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), the chairman of the Association of Indonesia Forest Concession Holders (APHI), Indroyono Soesilo, has indicated that natural forest wood production reached 6.03 million m3 in 2021, recording a growth of 14.4% year-on-year. Additionally, plantation production was 46.4 million m3, 1% higher compared to 2020.
Indroyono said exports increased around 30% to US$14.48 billion from the 2020 value of $11.07bn. For 2022, Indroyono projects exports could be $15-16bn, saying the markets are getting close to a pre-COVID condition.
Among the nine major downstream products exported, those that recorded the highest increase were wood chips with a growth of 91% year-on-year, and panels at 83%. Even though the export performance has improved, logistical constraints are still a crucial problem that has not eased.
In related news, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), log production fluctuated in every quarter of 2020. Production declined in Q2 2020 to 13.87 million m3, from 14.58 million m3 in Q1. However, there was an increase of log production in Q3, and by 16.2 million m3 in Q4 2020.
Forests in Sumatra provide most logs and in 2020, and 68% of log production in Indonesia came from Sumatra, which is about 41.73 million m3. Acacia species topped the list of species at 69%. Kalimantan is the second largest producer of logs with 9.71 million m3 in 2020, with the Meranti group as the dominant species at 36% of all log production. The third largest log producer in 2020 was Java, producing of 7.76 million m3 or about 13%. In Java, mixed tropical hardwood was the most widely harvested group of species.
Source: ITTO
