The news follows FoEs extensive campaign against Indonesian imports, culminating this year with its April Fools report, after nine UK paper merchants were found to be buying paper from Indonesian manufacturer April (PrintWeek, 22 February).

"In the case of the UK, it means we have cost Indonesian companies an awful lot of money, which probably explains why they have been keen to speak to us," said FoE forest campaigner Ed Matthew.

Despite the success, Matthew said there were still several issues to be overcome with April.

"Although the company has stopped logging in one of the worlds most biodiverse areas, it has not said it will never log there again," he said.

Matthew called on April to enter into a full independent wood supply audit to show its commitment to the environment.

Imports of chemical wood pulp fell 89% to 4,000 tonnes for the second half of 2001 against the first half, while imports of paper products slumped 51% to 17,000 tonnes.

The total value of imported pulp from Indonesia fell 89% to 1.2m ($2m), with the value of paper imports down 50% to 10.2m.

Story by Andy Scott