***********************************************

WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

Japan's Imports of Tropical Timber in 1994

Papua New Guinea Continue to Increase Its Log Exports to Japan

***********************************************

Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

3/26/96

OVERVIEW AND SOURCE

Following are detailed tropical timber import figures for Japan

for 1994. Japan's imports declined in 1994 by 8.6 percent, to 6.8

million m3. Papua New Guinea, which has some of the last sources

of large tracts of tropical lowland rainforests in the

Asia/Pacific region, continues to increase as a proportion of

total timber imports. Figures are provided for tropical log,

sawnwood and plywood totals; as well as broken down by country of

origin.

Though total tropical timber imports has decreased somewhat in

1994, the Sarawak Campaign Committee states "this cannot be

equated with reduced environmental and social impact, as logging

of steep slopes and water-catchment areas as well as premature

second logging of coups is feared to be intensifying in the

already seriously depleted forests of Sarawak, Malaysia, while

escalated logging in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands is

causing serious violations of residents' rights." This item was

posted in econet's rainfor.general conference.

g.b.

*******************************

RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

/** rainfor.genera: 148.0 **/

** Topic: 1994 Japan Tropical Timber Imports **

** Written 8:47 PM Feb 25, 1996 by scc in cdp:rainfor.genera **

Japan's Imports of Tropical Timber in 1994

Japan's 1994 tropical timber imports were characterized by a

continued increase in the proportion of plywood imports in

relation to log imports, and increased imports of logs from Papua

New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to make up for reduced log

supplies from Malaysia. Japan's imports of tropical hardwood logs

in 1994 (excluding imports of African timber) totalled 6.8 million

m3, a 8.6 percent decrease from 1993 and the lowest recorded level

since 1962. Tropical sawnwood imports also decreased 4.5 percent

to 1,297,000 m3. However, imports of tropical plywood from

Indonesia and Malaysia, at about 3,736,000 m3, were only slightly

less than the all-time record of 3,774,000 m3 in 1993. Total 1994

tropical timber imports decreased 5.8 percent (simple total), or

4.4 percent (roundwood equivalents) compared to 1993.

Japan's Tropical Timber Imports, 1988-1994 (units: 1000 m3)

Tropical Logs:

1988: 11,655

1989: 12,560

1990: 11,102

1991: 10,115

1992: 9,969

1993: 7,438

1994: 6,802

Change 1993-1994: -8.6 percent

Tropical Sawnwood:

1988: 1,184

1989: 1,736

1990: 1,274

1991: 1,203

1992: 1,197

1993: 1,358

1994: 1,297

Change 1993-1994: -4.5 percent

Tropical Plywood:

1988: 1,814

1989: 3,003

1990: 2,763

1991: 2,879

1992: 2,770

1993: 3,774

1994: 3,736

Change 1993-1994: -1.0 percent

Total

1988: 14,653

1989: 17,299

1990: 15,139

1991: 14,197

1992: 13,936

1993: 12,570

1994: 11,835

Change 1993-1994: -5.8 percent

Total in Round Wood Equivalent

1988: 17,982

1989: 22,626

1990: 19,776

1991: 18,926

1992: 18,519

1993: 18,590

1994: 17,755

Change 1993-1994: -4.5 percent

(Compiled by SCC from Nikkan Mokuzai Shimbun, 25 and 27 March

1993; 26 May 1994; 6 February & 8 March 1995; and Japan Lumber

Reports, 2 April 1995. RWE figures calculated by SCC.)

1 Tropical plywood import figures for 1988-1992 are for imports

from Indonesia only (which constituted more than 95 percent of

total) whereas figures for 1993 & 1994 are for imports from

Indonesia and Malaysia.

2 Roundwood Equivalent (RWE) is a measure of the "underbark" log

volume which would have been necessary to obtain one unit of

volume of the processed product. Figures for roundwood (volume)

equivalents have been calculated on the basis of the conversion

coefficients 1.82 for hardwood sawnwood and 2.3 for plywood, used

by the FAO (1991).

Japan's Tropical Hardwood Log Imports 1992-1994

(units: 1000 m3)

Sabah:

1992: 2,064

1993: 293

1994: 0

Change 1993-1994: -100 percent

Sarawak:

1992: 6,363

1993: 4,922

1994: 4,463

Change 1993-1994: -9.3 percent

PNG:

1992: 1,163

1993: 1,754

1994: 1,932

Change 1993-1994: +10.1 percent

Solomon Islands:

1992: 309

1993: 346

1994: 338

Change 1993-1994: -2.3 percent

Laos:

1992: 13

1993: 13

1994: 40

Change 1993-1994: +200 percent

Myanmar:

1992: 13

1993: 76

1994: 22

Change 1993-1994: -71 percent

Cambodia:

1992: 36

1993: 24

1994: 5

Change 1993-1994: -77 percent

Vietnam:

1992: 10

1993: 0

1994: 0

Vanuatu:

1992: 0

1993: 4

1994: 0

Philippines:

1992: 0

1993: 2

1994: 0

Total

1992: 9,969

1993: 7,438

1994: 6,802

Change 1993-1994: -8.6 percent

(Nippon Mokuzai Shimbun, 16 February 1995; 10 February 1994)

Tropical hardwood log imports from Sarawak, Malaysia decreased 9.3

percent to 4.5 million m3 in 1994. This accounted for about 52

percent of log exports from Sarawak.1 Log imports from Papua New

Guinea increased 10.1 percent to 1.9 million m3 and those from the

Solomon Islands decreased 2.3 percent to 338,000 m3.

Japan's 1994 Plywood Imports (units: 1000 m3)

Indonesia 3,228

change from 1993= -6.2 percent

Share: 79.8 percent

Malaysia 508

change from 1993= +34.6 percent

Share: 12.6 percent

Canada 183

change from 1993= +8.8 percent

Share: 4.5 percent

USA 47

change from 1993= +8.7 percent

Share: 1.2 percent

New Zealand 31

change from 1993= +48.0 percent

Share: 0.8 percent

Taiwan 16

change from 1993= +37.0 percent

Share: 0.4 percent

Brazil 15

change from 1993= +50.0 percent

Share: 0.4 percent

China 1

change from 1993= +8.0 percent

Share: 0.05 percent

Italy 1

change from 1993= -

Share: 0.0 percent

Total (incl. others) 4,045

change from 1993= -1.0 percent

Share: 100.0 percent

(Ministry of Finance Trade Statistics, quoted in Nippon Mokuzai

Shimbun, 8 March 1995)

Tropical plywood imports from Indonesia decreased 6.2 percent to

3.2 million m3, while those from Malaysia increased 34.6 percent

to 508,000 m3; plywood imports from these two countries totalled

92.4 percent of all (including non-tropical) plywood imports.

Though total tropical timber imports in roundwood equivalents

decreased somewhat in 1994, this cannot be equated with reduced

environmental and social impact, as logging of steep slopes and

water-catchment areas as well as premature second logging of coups

is feared to be intensifying in the already seriously depleted

forests of Sarawak, Malaysia, while escalated logging in Papua New

Guinea and the Solomon Islands is causing serious violations of

residents' rights. These trends reflect a vast increase in local

wood processing in Sarawak, Malaysia, a ban on log exports from

Sabah, Malaysia since 1993, and capture of a large share of the

Japanese market by the Indonesian and Malaysian plywood industry.

(1Note: According to the Sarawak Timber Association, log

production in Sarawak in 1994 was 16.3 million m3 (2 percent less

than 1993), of which 12.9 million m3 (5.6 percent less than 1993)

was from hill forests. 8.6 million m3 (5.8 percent less than

1993) was exported as logs while 7.7 million m3 (1.7 million m3

more than 1993) was processed locally. (Nippon Mokuzai Shimbun,

22 April 1995))

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

You are encouraged to utilize this information for personal

campaign use; including writing letters, organizing campaigns and

forwarding. All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely

pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all

information rests with the reader. Check out our Gaia Forest

Archives at URL= http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html

Networked by:

Ecological Enterprises || Phone/Fax->(608) 233-2194

Email-> gbarry@forests.org