1999 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Econometric Analysis of Influences to Japanese Forestry and Timber Industry by the Changes of Timber Trade Policy in Export Countries
| Project/Area Number |
09660162
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
林学
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Niigata University (1999)
Kyoto University (1997-1998) |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
MURASHIMA Yoshinao Department of Agriculture, Niigata University Professor, 農学部, 教授 (20012073)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OTA Ikuo Kyoto University Grad. School of Agric. Research Associate, 大学院・農学研究科, 助手 (00252495)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
1997 – 1999
|
| Keywords | Forest Industry / Man-made Forest / Multinational Corporation / Tariffs / Export Restriction / WTO / Sustainable Forestry / Environmental Policy |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Forestry and forest industry in Japan are changing with unsettled framework of international economy and forest policy. The final objective of this study was to quantitatively analyze the effect of international policy influence to Japanese forest sector.
United State, Canada, and Indonesia have been the major countries who made influences to Japanese timber market. Rapid increase of raw log and sawntimber imports in 1960's and early 1970's overwhelmed our market, but after that the situation in international forest sector changed. Decrease of old growth forests and growing environmental movement to save the forests were examples of such biggest changes. Forestry practices have gradually shifted from old growth exploitation to sustained yield of second growth. Because of timber frontier going more and more inland, and of environmental regulation becoming stronger, forestry in North America, especially in the Pacific coast region, affected a lot. This made US South, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, and Portugal become competitive. In such countries, international timber companies are vigorously growing timber in short rotation. Recent increase of Japanese import of timber from Europe is a proof of less competitiveness in North America.
It is also obvious that forestry in Southeast Asia and Russia are less competitive to the others in terms of Japanese timber market. Considering the shifting trend from old growth exploitation to sustained yield of second growth, deep dependence on virgin forests in such countries have no bright future in international timber trade. Under such situation, industrialization policy in Indonesia affected much to the wood panel market in the world in 1980's and 1990's.
|
