T

he government is optimistic that timber exports will grow faster this year thanks to the use of the legality certification system (SVLK) issued by the government.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry'€™s secretary-general Hadi Daryanto said on Monday that timber exports would increase by 5 percent this year from the US$5.96 billion estimated for last year, which was a 3.75 percent rise from the figure in 2013.

According to the ministry'€™s data, SVLK adoption has significantly increased exports of certified timber from several regions, including Jepara in Central Java, which experienced a surge of 129.34 percent from $14.27 million in 2013 to $32.74 million in 2014.

The country'€™s total timber exports rose from $6.07 billion in 2013 to $6.62 billion last year. Of that figure, Asia accounted for 73.93 percent of market share, followed by the EU with 9.76 percent and the US with 9.46 percent.

Hadi said that in order to allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to contribute to the boost in exports the government had simplified the mandatory aspects of SVLK starting this year through the use of supply-conformity self-declarations (DE) on overseas shipments, instead of the V-Legal certificate.

'€œWe aren'€™t replacing the SVLK certification, we'€™re just affording SMEs the chance to export their goods. Rp 30 million [$2,410.3] is expensive,'€ Hadi told The Jakarta Post, referring to the fee to arrange a certificate.

Hadi said the ministry had sent a letter to the Foreign Ministry to help inform the international community about the new self-declaration scheme, to prevent confusion and ensure market acceptance.

However, a business group representing the SMEs doubted the acceptance of self-declaration of exports in buyer countries, particularly in the European Union and Australia.

Indonesia Rattan Furniture and Craft Association (AMKRI) chairman Soenoto said on Monday that some of the group'€™s members in Cirebon, West Java, and Yogyakarta suspended a shipment of 18 containers of wooden furniture on Friday because of fears that the destination countries '€” the EU and Australia '€” would not be willing to accept the self-declaration document.

The number might grow to more than 100 as of Monday, he added.

'€œAs long as there'€™s no certainty that our trading partners can accept the documents, our members will continue holding back our exports,'€ Soenoto told the Post.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry issued in December two ministerial regulations that effectively delayed the application of the V-Legal Certificate, which represents compliance with SVLK compatible with EU timber regulations.

The first ruling, Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation No. 95/2014, dated Dec. 22, 2014, stipulates that the self-declaration of exports allows certain timber-industry SMEs to claim that their products meet timber-legality standards for exports.

The second doctrine, Trade Ministerial Regulation No. 97/2014 on the guidelines for forestry product exports, was passed on Dec. 24 and stipulates that the declarations will substitute for the conventional V-Legal certificates until Dec. 31, 2015.