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| Plywood industry sees robust growth |
| Shishir Prashant / Dehradun Nov 24, 2009, 00:56 IST |
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After two bad years and a recession that saw demand fall by 40 to 50 per cent, the Rs 700-800 crore plywood industry in Uttarakhand is expecting a robust growth in the wake of signs of recovery in the real estate business.
The Uttarakhand Plywood Manufacturing Association (UPMA) believes that the industry will grow 25 per cent this year compared to last year. Average annual production in the hill state is 6,000 cubic meters.
But the industry still has a grouse — that the government has not given it any support or preference, despite it being an alternative to precious forest wood. They want research that will yield new variety of trees from which plywood can be made. (Plywood is obtained mainly from eucalyptus and poplar trees.)
Manufacturers are also calling for the setting up of a plywood and allied products board, on the lines of the bamboo and coir boards set up by the Centre. This, they believe, will help resolve several key issues faced by the industry. They also want the industry to be kept out of the tax net and stringent pollution norms, on the ground of it being a green industry.
The plywood industry, which thrives mainly in the Yamuna Nagar area of Haryana, depends on eucalyptus and poplar trees, which are being grown along with cash crops by farmers in the northern region. Manufacturers in Uttarakhand buy products either directly from farmers or rely on mandis in Yamunagar and other areas in the Terai region.
The business in this part of the country is not very old. But the turnaround came in the 1990s when the plywood industry collapsed in the north-east, following a Supreme Court ban on felling of trees. Since then, the industry has thrived in Haryana and nearby areas, where a total of 400-500 units have been set up.
Uttarakhand has 18 to 20 plywood units, most of them in the Kumaon region. Making use of tax incentives, Archid Plywood, Rama Plywood and Shiridi Plywood have set up shops recently in the key industrial estate of Pantnagar and other areas of the Kumaon region. Metro and Orium Sundram have set up manufacturing units at Roorkee in the Garhwal region.
Anil Goyal, who is also president of the UPMA, said the government should also give special incentives and facilities to farmers to encourage the growth of eucalyptus and poplar trees. He said the industry is facing a raw material shortage of 30-50 per cent.
Since plywood is eco-friendly and a substitute for wood, Goyal said there should be a concerted campaign for its use on both the commercial and domestic fronts. He also urged institutions like the Forest Research Institute (FRI) to conduct research on which new species can be utilised in plywood.
During the past few years, there has been innovation in the plywood industry that enables it to manufacture products like block boards, doors and various other items that are properly seasoned and treated.
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