TOKYO: Japan’s lumber self-sufficiency rate is believed to have recovered above 30 percent for the first time in 27 years in 2014, according to industry officials.
The recovery reflects increasing demand for domestic lumber amid the yen’s weakness, which has lifted prices for imports. Biomass power generation that uses wood waste for fuel has also grown, they said.
The lumber self-sufficiency rate, or the proportion of domestic product to total lumber supply in the country, fell to a record low 18.15 percent in 2000 from 94.51 percent in 1955 due to falling prices, rising costs for domestic production and increased imports. The rate has been on a moderate upward trend in recent years.
The Forestry Agency has set a goal of lifting the self-sufficiency rate to 50 percent by 2020 to ensure a stable supply. The agency aims to boost production of cross-laminated timber, which can be used to build mid- to high-rise buildings, to promote domestic lumber products.
It also plans to support woody biomass power generation as a new source of revenue for mountainous villages. The agency’s campaign is part of an effort to utilize forests planted across the country decades ago.
