Forest Production in India Vis-a-vis other Asian Countries

Wood production of five top roundwood producing countries of Asia (India, China, Indonesia, Japan and Turkey) during the period 1972 to 1983 has been analysed. Production of roundwood, industrial wood and fuelwood are taken into consideration. Although India is the highest producer of round wood in Asia, proportion of wood used as raw material for different industries is very low. In 1983, while Japan used 98.23% of wood for industrial purposes, India utilised only 8.56%. Most of our removals from forests are utilised as fuel which curbs the accelarated industrial development.