Scarcity of poplar, eucalyptus pushes plywood industry to brink of closure

Kuldip Bhatia

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Ludhiana, July 31

The plywood manufacturing units in Punjab are facing a crisis-like situation due to shortage and steep rise in the prices of poplar and eucalyptus, the primary raw material for the production of plywood, to the extent that several units have been pushed to the brink of closure.

Addressing a press conference here today, Ashok Juneja, chairman, and Inderjit Singh Sohal, president of the Punjab Plywood Manufacturers Association (PPMA), said: “The prices of poplar has shot up by over 100 per cent over the past 12 to 18 months, which is an indication of the demand-supply imbalance for these two important breeds of wood. The government ought to take immediate remedial measures to address the issue of illegal licences failing which the plywood industry would be wiped off from Punjab.”

Sukhdev Chhabra, secretary general of the association, claimed that most of the units were working at 25 to 40 per cent of their instaled capacity and such a situation had emerged because of springing up of illegal units, which had been set up in clear contravention of the Supreme Court and Central-empowered committee guidelines for setting up the industry. “The Supreme Court had ordered that no new units be set up without securing licences from specially constituted Central-Empowered Committee. This was done to prevent illegal deforestation,” he added.

Juneja said the plywood sector was surprised over the reports of creating cluster for the new industry by the government as the existing industry was dying in absence and high prices of raw material in the state. The PPMA urged the government that in the prevailing grim scenario any policy for issuance of new wood-based industry should at least deferred for next four to five years, after which a fresh study on the basis of availability of wood should be done and further decision taken. Sohal made a strong plea for immediate stoppage of export of wood from Punjab to other state to save the industry from closure.

Both Juneja and Sohal said the association had repeatedly taken up the matter with the government to promote plantation of timber since it could prove lucrative proposition for the farmers and also provide the much-needed raw material to wood-based industry. “Many village panchayat lands are available with the government which may be effectively used for improving area under cultivation of these breeds. This will also bring a balance between demand-supply equation which is a very important factor to prevent illegal deforestation of other forests woods in the state,” they added.