|
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Furniture makers ask Gloria: Rethink log ban
The Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) Inc. wants the government to reconsider the implementation of President Gloria Arroyo’s directive to ban logging activities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), saying this will have drastic effects on the country’s furniture industry.
In a statement, CFIF president Jay Yuvallos said the total log ban in Armm will affect the supply of wood to furniture manufacturers.
“Local wood, which is about the only remaining competitive advantage that the Philippine furniture export industry has over its competitors, is about to be lost,” he said.
“CFIF acknowledges and commends the good intention of the government in vigilantly addressing the issue of illegal logging and continued forest denudation. However, the recently released memorandum has greatly affected the furniture industry.
Though the directive is to the lumber industry, it has a significant impact on the furniture sector,” according to the CFIF statement.
President Arroyo released last April 18 a memorandum pronouncing a total log ban in Armm.
The memorandum includes the suspension within Armm of licenses and logging operations permits; prohibition of transport of logs, lumber, slabs and all other forest products going out of Armm provinces; and declaring illegal all shipment of forest products coming in and going out of Armm provinces.
The CFIF said furniture manufacturers are now having difficulty getting wood species like Gemilina, Lawaan and Mahogany, especially after the release of the memorandum.
If the local wood supply, which is the lifeblood of the industry, runs out, the furniture industry stands to lose P41 million a day, or P1.1 billion a month, in lost export revenues.
The furniture industry is one of the key export industries in the country with about 12,500 players employing more than two million people.
The CFIF said government revenues from wood-based industries amount to around P840 million.
“A decline in the Philippine furniture industry will not only cause financial losses for the manufacturers. More significantly, it will displace millions of workers and their families who depend on the furniture business for their livelihood,” CFIF said.
The CFIF is also recommending that the government enforce existing forestry laws, ensure that an effective wood supply program is implemented immediately to arrest skyrocketing lumber prices, and facilitate the delivery of wood to the furniture industry. (JBN)
(May 28, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
