Jakarta, Nov 24 (ANTARA) Indonesia was a major exporter of raw rattan
in the past, but since last year it has stopped exporting raw rattan and
encouraged rattan-made production for exports in an effort to obtain
added value from its rattan resources.
Regarded as the world's largest rattan exporter, Indonesia's rattan
resources are available in tropical forests across ten provinces. One of
the rattan producing provinces is West Sulawesi, where both local and
central governments are planning to develop rattan industries to support
the country's export target for rattan-made products.
The development of rattan and rattan industries in West Sulawesi is
expected to help overcome scarcities of raw materials. The Association
of Rattan Furniture and Handicraft makers(AMKRI) previously complained
about difficulty in securing rattan.
Association chairman Soenoto said furniture producers operate far
below their installed capacity because of difficulties in securing raw
rattan.
He noted that they are operating at only 20 percent of their capacity
with production worth only US$100 million in export markets, Soenoto
said.
He added that the country's rattan processing factories have a large
capacity and could export up to US$500 million worth of rattan products a
year, if they could utilize more of their capacity.
In an effort to overcome raw material shortages, West Sulawesi's rattan
potential is to be developed and factories built.
In this case, officials at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry's office for West Sulawesi said it was prepared to assist in
the exporting of the province's rattan products to Europe.
Of
all the provinces in the country, West Sulawesi has the largest rattan
potential, covering almost 600 thousand hectares.
"Kadin
supports the plans of three ministers to expand the rattan industries
in West Sulawesi province in 2013," Kadin Chief for West Sulawesi Harry
Warga Negara said on Saturday.
Harry, who is secretary general of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs
Association (Hipmi), said three ministers who created plans to expand
the rattan industry were Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Trade
Minister Wirjawan and Industry Minister MS Hidayat.
The three ministers have visited the province in preparing their plans
to develop the rattan industries in West Sulawesi province and announced
plans last February to expand the industries.
"Kadin hopes that the industries would be built soon and would be ready
to market their rattan products to a number of European countries and
to Asian nations in an effort to develop West Sulawesi's economy," the
Kadin branch chief said.
With
the assistance of Kadin, the country's rattan-made exports are expected
to reach the target set at $230 million in 2013. Since raw rattan is no
longer exported and industries at home have sufficient raw materials
and are expected to manufacture more rattan-based goods to boost exports
and to reap more added values.
Further, the industry ministry has set a target for the country's
earnings from rattan exports at US$230 million in 2013. Director for
forestry and plantation products Aryan Warga said Europe and the United
States will be the main countries for these products.
According to the Indonesian Rattan Handicraft and Furniture Industry
Association (Asmindo), Indonesia's exports of rattan-based products in
the January-August 2012 period rose 25.2 percent from US$113.6 million
in the same period in 2011 to US$142.3 million.
Asmindo data showed that Indonesia's rattan exports in 2010 were valued
at US$137.9 million, up 9.6 percent when compared with those in 2009.
However, figures dropped by 17.6 percent to US$113.6 million in 2011 due
to the global economic crisis.
"The
trade minister's decree No. 35/2011 that bans raw rattan exports has
shown a positive impact on Indonesia's rattan-based product exports,"
Dody Edward, the director for export product and creative economy
development of the trade ministry, said recently.
He
added that the trade minister's decree banning the export of raw rattan
had raised the volume of rattan-made products in the first half of
2012, as compared to figures from the same period in 2011.
Dody added, with this decree Indonesia no longer exports raw rattan,
but only finished goods. This has helped Indonesia develop its human
resources for the production of rattan-based products, such as
handicrafts and furniture, enabling a high quality of exports.
The government, through the Forestry Ministry, has established West
Sulawesi's wet forest, which covers 12,000 hectares, as a key resource
for the rattan industry.
Moreover, the Governor of West Sulawesi, Anwar Adnan Saleh, said that
rattan is a long-term industry that needs to be developed in the
province to improve the local economy.
"West Sulawesi is an ideal location for the rattan industry, since the
region is one of the largest rattan producers in Indonesia. The region
produces approximately 50,000 tonnes of rattan every year," Governor
Saleh said.
The Industry Ministry has conducted research on domestic and
international markets and generated a list of 13 countries in Europe and
Asia which are enthusiastic about purchasing rattan from West Sulawesi.
Deputy Chairman of the Kadin branch office in West Sulawesi, Ilham
Zainuddin, said besides supporting the marketing of rattan products,
Kadin would also assist in the acceleration of building rattan
factories.
Kadin will support development of the factories through the services of
construction companies under its auspices. He hopes it would increase
employment, as well.
Ilham, who is also chairman of the National Contractors Association
(Askonas) for West Sulawesi branch, said that West Sulawesi had a large
rattan potential centered in five districts, including Mamuju, with
acreage of about 341 thousand hectares, North Mamuju with 92 hectares,
Mamasa with 65 thousand hectares, Polman with 54 thousand hectares and
Majene with 44 thousand hectares.
Ilham
noted that among the rattan grown in West Sulawesi there are certain
rare species in Indonesia, including those locally called 'datu' rattan,
tohiti rattan, lambang rattan, Batang rattan and others.
"Rattan has developed since the days of yore in West Sulawesi and is
called by the locals 'manurung', meaning the endless bounty, because the
more they tap it the more rattan will grow. Producing rattan has been
one of the sources of life of local residents from generation to
generation," Ilham said.
The Kadin deputy chairman also said he hoped that the construction of
the rattan industries would serve as the prime generators of West
Sulawesi economic development.***2***
(T.A014/A/KR-BSR/B003) 24-11-2012 19:33:5 |
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