As one of the national priority industries (in accordance with Government Regulation No. 14 of 2015 concerning the National Industrial Development Master Plan 2015-2035), the Indonesian pulp and paper industry makes a significant contribution to the national economy. A press release from the Ministry of Industry (January 18) stated that by 2023, total exports from this sector will reach USD 8.37 billion, contributing up to 4.03% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the non-oil and gas processing industry. Furthermore, this industry is a source of livelihood for more than 275,000 direct workers and 1.2 million indirect workers.
Putu Juli Ardika, Director General of Agro-Industry at the Ministry of Industry, stated that the Indonesian pulp and paper industry also has a comparative advantage in the availability of wood raw materials, which grow relatively faster than in Industrial Plantation Forests. "Several decades ago, NORSCAN (North America and Scandinavia) countries were the world's main suppliers of pulp and paper products. However, now there is a significant shift towards Asia, particularly Indonesia and East Asian countries. This is a huge opportunity for us, a chance for Indonesia to become the king of the pulp industry," said the Director General of Agro-Industry in Jakarta on Saturday (January 18). Furthermore, Putu stated that per capita paper consumption in Indonesia has only reached 32 kg per year, meaning the pulp and paper market still has significant potential for growth.
Furthermore, the increasingly popular green lifestyle trend is encouraging the use of paper as an environmentally friendly packaging material to replace plastic. This also opens up opportunities for Indonesia to reach new markets, both domestically and globally. Along with the development of the pulp and paper industry, the Director General of Agro-Industry also reported a significant increase in production capacity. "From 103 business units in 2021, the number will increase to 113 by 2024. Installed pulp capacity increased from 10 million tons per year to 12.3 million tons per year, while paper production capacity increased from 18.2 million tons to 20.86 million tons per year during the same period," Putu said. However, although Indonesia now ranks 7th in the world in the pulp industry and 6th in the world in the paper industry, several major challenges remain, such as the availability of recycled paper (KDU) raw materials and the guaranteed supply of raw materials from imports, namely the EUWSR (European Union Waste Shipment Regulation) policy, which will limit KDU imports from the European Union.