Indonesia could increase its global position of No. 9 in pulp production as U.S., Scandinavian countries' dominance declines, shift occurs to Asia, especially Indonesia, and Latin America, says Indonesian official

Bdebbie Garcia

LOS ANGELES , December 15, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – With the decline of the U.S. and Scandinavian countries as the world’s primary pulp producers, Indonesia could boost its position from that of No. 9, according to an Indonesian official, reported the Jakarta Globe on Dec. 15.

A global shift is occurring to more pulp being produced in Asia, especially Indonesia, and to Latin American countries, such as Chile, Brazil and Uruguay, said Benny Wahyudi, director general of the agricultural and chemical industry at Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry.

Indonesia could become the world’s fourth-largest producer of pulp and paper through investment, he said during a speech at the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Association’s meeting on Thursday, the Jakarta Globe reported.

The country has about 7 million hectares (17.3 million acres) of land that could be geared toward pulp making, said Benny, noting that Indonesia’s pulp production this year is expected to reach 7.3 million tonnes and paper production, 10.7 million tonnes.

The value of Indonesia’s pulp exports in 2010 accounted for 50% of the country’s total exports of US$8 billion, he said.

As of this year, the country has 14 pulp manufacturers with 7.9 million tonnes-per-year capacity, and 79 paper mills with 12.17 million tonnes/year capacity. This is up from just seven paper mills with 50,000 tonnes/year capacity in the 1970s, and all of them belonged to the government, reported the Jakarta Globe.

The primary source of this article is the Jakarta Globe, Jakarta, Indonesia, on Dec. 15, 2011.

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