Yamunanagar plywood makers eye UP’s polished push

The plywood industry in Yamunanagar district is going through a difficult phase. The industry is not getting sufficient quantities of poplar and eucalyptus wood and the government ban at this stage on new plantation of eucalyptus saplings in the state will further deepen the problem of wood shortage in future.

The plywood industry of Yamunanagar district is getting tough competition from the plywood industry of Kerala and Nepal and the recent hike in electricity rates will put the industry in more problems.

However, in this tough time, the industry-friendly schemes of the Uttar Pradesh Government are likely to attract plywood manufacturers of Haryana, giving a setback to the Haryana Government’s policy of promoting industry in the state.

As per available information, one of the main reasons behind the arising crisis of Yamunanagar’s plywood industry is that it is not getting poplar wood in required quantity, as the farmers of Uttar Pradesh have found new venues in numerous plywood factories that have come up in their state in the past years.

Earlier, the farmers of Uttar Pradesh used to cater to about 80 per cent demand of the Yamunanagar industry.

The plywood industry of Yamunanagar district needs more than 2 lakh quintals of poplar wood daily, but, the industry has been getting a supply of about 1 lakh quintal daily for the past some years.

Now, for the survival of the industry, the plywood industry has started using imported pine wood as well as imported eucalyptus core-veneer to meet the requirement of wood in the last one year. These products are being imported from South African countries, Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries.

The plywood industries of Kerala and Nepal are giving a tough competition to the plywood industry of Yamunanagar as the rates of the plywood of Kerala and Nepal are lower than the rates of plywood of Yamunanagar due to low cost of production.

The recent hike in electricity rates will burden each plywood factory additionally. The plywood manufactures say that not only per unit consumption rate has gone up by Rs 0.40 paise per unit, but also there is phenomenal increase in fixed charges from Rs 165 per kilowatt to Rs 290 per kilowatt annually.

The industry has demanded amendment in rules laid for getting an NOC from the Haryana Water Regulatory Authority (HWRA).

The registration under the HWRA is for one year and after completion of one year, each unit has to apply again for registration by paying their prescribed fee.The industry has demanded that the registration should be done once and like electricity, the charges for extraction of water should be charged quarterly based on tele-meter reading.

Issuing a letter to all Divisional Forest Officers of the state in July 2025, the Forest Department, Haryana, has banned plantation of eucalyptus/clonal eucalyptus under several schemes of the government due to environmental reasons. The industry demanded that the ban should be lifted by the government in the interest of the industry as well as the farmers.

The Uttar Pradesh Government has opened a box of incentives to attract industry to its state.

Recently, the Chief Secretary of UP held a meeting with the owners of the plywood units of Haryana and Punjab in Saharanpur.

The Chief Secretary offered land at subsidised rates of Rs 2,500 per sq metre in the industrial area, Pilkhani, just 20 km away from Yamunanagar, and also other incentives like subsidised electricity and single window system for getting all approval within 30 days. Many owners of the plywood units have either purchased land or are in the process of purchasing land for shifting their units to UP.

But, in the prevailing circumstances, the farmers are happy as they are getting a handsome poplar rate which is between Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,600 per quintal due to the ongoing huge gap of demand and supply of poplar wood.

There are about 350 plywood factories and 700 peeling factories, band mills, and chipper factories in Yamunanagar district.