Japan Lumber Importers Association (JLIA), Japan Federation of Plywood Manufacturers, Indonesian Plywood Association (Apkindo), Malaysian Panel Manufacturers Association (MPMA) and Sarawak Timber Association (STA) recently held a plywood conference in Singapore. Apkindo and STA informed their Japanese counterparts that higher prices are not expected to result in increased exports because of the worsening log supply problem. Apkindo further informed that Indonesias plywood export volume continued to decline in the first half of 2006 and was expected to halve to 1.5 million m3 by the end of the year, down from 3.4 million m3 in 2005. Apkindo said it was aware that the current situation could speed up substitution in Japan, but it believed it was still a dominant supplier of quality thin plywood. Regarding concrete forming plywood, both Indonesia and Malaysia agreed that this product had not been very profitable in the last decade. (Source: ITTO)