Indonesia will resume exports of plantation logs after the reported volume of logs produced was more than the domestic industry could absorb, according to Fordaq.
The decision to lift the ban, which had been in place since 2001, was made to create competition and yield better prices for local plantation log producers, Bambang Hendroyono, secretary general of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, told Fordaq. He said the influx of money will allow for more advanced management and harvesting systems in the future.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Association of Sawn Timber and Processed Timber Manufacturers Softwood Producers expressed concern that if the log export trade suffers from poor supervision it could allow the illegal logging trade to grow.