Published on: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 |
Sibu: Sarawak's export value of timber and timber products slipped down by 11.44 percent in the first eight months of this year from the same period last year, to RM5.05 billion from RM5.7 billion.
The Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) attributed this to both lower volume exported and weak prices.
In its bi-monthly magazine "Perkasa," it cites an International Tropical Timber Organisation source as saying that generally the prices of Malaysian timber products such as sawn timber, plywood and panel products "are impacted by weaknesses linked to the instability in the world financial market."
Plywood remained the major contributor, accounting for 55 percent or RM2.76 billion of the total value but its export volume decreased by 21.16 percent to 1.81 million cu m due to reduced demand from Japan, the main market.
The requirement for formaldehyde emission to be at an acceptable level on all plywood products by Taiwan, another major buyer, since last July also affected the volume.
On logs, Sarawak recorded an increased export volume by 3.77 percent to 2.43 million cu m due to steady demand from India but the lower price had reduced the earnings by 15.28 percent to RM1.15 billion.
Overall, the report said, the demand for sawn timber remained moderate although there was a slender decline in the export volume - the volume only decreased by 1.26 percent to 667,400 cu m but export earnings reduced by 6.4 percent to RM615 million.
Thailand, which accounted for about 29 percent or 193,871 cu m of the total exports, was the major market, followed by the Middle East with 17 percent or 113,241 cu m.
On the brighter side, exports of veneer, particleboard and woodchips increased and enjoyed firmer prices. The export volume of veneer rose 4.68 percent to 170,400 cu m while the value grew 13.01 percent to RM187 million.
Taiwan and Korea led the market with respective imports of 32 percent and 31 percent.
For particleboard, demand increased by 12.35 percent to 83,700 cu m worth RM38 million with Indonesia as the main consumer, accounting for 53 percent of the total market share, followed by South Korea and Vietnam.
Local exporters received more orders for medium density fibreboard (MDF), especially from Japan, but although export volume improved by 3.36 percent to 122,200 cu m, lower prices affected earnings, which dropped 18.72 percent to RM117 million.
On outlook, STIDC said there will be major challenges for the Malaysian timber industry as "instability in the global market is negatively impacting the country's timber and timber products prices."
Another challenge will come from the pending Japan-Indonesia free trade agreement that will remove tariffs on Indonesian forest products, it added.-Bernama
