| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MASUDA Misa University of Tsukuba, Institute of Agriculture and forestry, Associate professo, 農林学系, 助教授 (70192747)
NARITA Masami University of Tsukuba, Institute of Agriculture and forestry, Associate professo, 農林学系, 助教授 (30164502)
ARAYA Akihiko Japan Wood Products Infomation and Research Center, Senior Reseacher, 主任研究員
金 才賢 日本学術振興会, 特別研究員
|
|---|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000)
Fiscal Year 1996: ¥200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000)
Fiscal Year 1995: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Fiscal Year 1994: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The structure of wood production and international trade of forest products have drastically changed since 1990's. Decline of natural stock and rise of natural resources nationalism led to shifts in site of production, from natural forests to forest plantations, and in commodity form, from round wood to more final products. Japan and Korea, as largest forest products importers in Asia, have also been obliged to change by such world trends. The direction and extent of these changes, however, vary between both countries with amount and type of wood consumption.
In Japan, wood is used mainly in housing construction as structural timber, in contrast to larger demand on engineering works, construction, interior and furniture in Korea. As a result, Japan has shifted to import of high value-added products, while import of low-grade round wood is still dominant in Korea. Rapid degradation and shrinkage of natural forest resources in Southeast Asia urged both countries to expand import of artificial forest products and to diversifyforest products exporting countries. Sharing these similarities in basic structure, however, some differences can be found between Japan and Korea in trade of forest products from Southeast Asia. Import of wood panels, for instance, is increasing in Japan as a substitute of plywood, while it is under a stage of grouping in Korea where furniture takes an important place in wood processing industry.
The world tendency is toward reduction of forest products, especially round wood import from the tropics, and so are Japan and Korea. Under such a circumstance, importers of forest products in both countries are compelled to keep the strategies to put greater importance on trade of final products and to expand multi-lateral business connections. In addition, import of forest products from Southeast Asia is increasing in China, contrary to the trend in Japan and Korea.
|
