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BUSINESS

Despite global pandemic, Indonesia’s forestry exports far exceed target

January 7, 2021

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JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesia surpassed the forestry export target it set for itself in 2020, a particularly outstanding achievement given the challenges posed by the raging global pandemic last year.

In anticipation of the impact of the global pandemic, the country's Environment and Forestry Ministry revised the minimum 2020 target downwards to USD7 billion from the previous target of USD10 billion, much lower than the value of forestry exports in 2019 which amounted to USD11.62 billion.

However, according to the ministry's real-time forestry export data, the 2020 forestry export performance was worth USD11.08, far exceeding the 2020 minimum target.

"We are very proud of the performance of Indonesian forestry exports during the 2020 pandemic year. With a value of more than USD11 billion and a realization of over 158%, the minimum target we set was hugely exceeded,” said the Ministry's Secretary General Bambang Hendroyono (Jan 6).

He added that last year’s forestry export value performance represented just a slight drop of a mere 4.67% compared to 2019.

"The fact that the 2020 forestry export performance so easily outstripped the minimum target indicates that the incentives offered and relaxation policies granted to forestry businesses were the right move, not to mention that they prevented large-scale lay-offs in the forestry sector," he explained.

Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Nurbaya recently highlighted Indonesia's forestry export performance in 2020, hailing it as one of the year's great forestry-related success stories, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS.

The first chart below compares Indonesia's forestry export value from January-December 2019 with that over the same period in 2020. The second chart, meanwhile, compares the 2020 minimum forestry export value target and its level of realization.

"Of course we reserve our greatest praise for God and are also thankful to all the parties involved, most notably the industry players, for the 2020 forestry export performance, especially considering the difficulties presented by the global pandemic,” said Hendroyono.

Inspiring an even better performance

Indonesian Forestry Business Association Chairman Indroyono Soesilo expressed confidence that the 2021 forestry export target would also be achieved, given the extent to which the 2020 forestry export performance exceeded the minimum target despite the growing global pandemic. 

"To be honest, in May 2020 I was getting a bit nervous because the growth of forestry exports was at a level of minus 8.3%. Happily though, we managed to rebound to notch up a value of more than USD11 billion," Soesilo enthused to FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jan 6).

The association chairman lauded the remarkable achievements of 2020 as a breath of fresh air for the industry which could inspire an even better level of performance in 2021. 

“Several indicators, such as price, show that there is an added impetus to attain an even higher level of performance this year,” Soesilo asserted.

The performance of forestry exports in 2020, he continued, was enabled by the extensive efforts undertaken by the forestry authorities and other parties during the unprecedentedly tough year.

“Last year’s small dip in the value of forestry exports, down less than 5% from 2019, reflects the far-reaching efforts we carried out. Considering the circumstances, in particular the debilitating global pandemic, we should be extremely delighted with this performance,” the association chairman said in conclusion.

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TAGS: FORESTRY , EXPORTS , PANDEMIC