STIA wants gov’t to ease import of raw timber

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Timber Industries Association (STIA) has urged the State government to come up with effective actions to assist the industry based on its needs, instead of formation and announcement of policies which do not consist of firm implementation actions and the desired accomplishments.

Its President Datuk James Hwong in his Chinese New Year message noted that due to over logging in the past and the lack of sustainable forest management (SFM) program by the Government, the industry is currently faced with shortage of raw material and has to depend on other means to sustain the industry.

“Whilst we understand the importance of protecting the environment and support the forest sustainable management policy undertaken by the Government, the industry is appealing for the State Government to assist the industry by taking steps in easing importation of raw material from other countries in the form of a symbolic exemption of raw material importation fee and enhancing the timber planting program of fast growing species by providing land to willing timber industry players/operators in manageable scale, continue to monitor and upgrade basic infrastructure and support service, such as road and railway service, electricity and water supply to industrial zone and continue improvement of port facility to cut down high cost of doing business in Sabah,” he proposed.

While assuring that the association will continue to play an active role in the development of the timber industry in Sabah, he said the association hoped the Government could provide the necessary support and back-up plan for the industry to move forward during this difficult period of waiting for the SFM project to bear the desired result.

“As at 2010 Sabah’s total area for commercial forest is around 2.6 million, we believe strongly that opportunities and continued growth in timber related business is still abundant provided the State Government provide the relevant necessary support to the industry to ensure its continuous development,” he said.
Hwong reminded that the timber industry has benefited the economic development of the State for the last 35 to 40 years and shall continue to play a major role in the future.

“The timber industry is still one of the main contributors to the State economy in term of GDP and the Sabah Timber Industries Association (STIA) pledges to continue to extend support and full commitment to the aspiration of the Government in its endeavour to protect as well as develop the wood based processing industry in Sabah,” he said.

Besides this he also gave an account of the performance of the industry to date, where he noted that panel products such as plywood and veneer were still the highest products exported in terms of volume and value.
“In 2010 the timber industry contributed around 6% of Sabah’s total export which amounted to RM2,682 billion third largest contributor after petroleum and oil palm,” he added.

Sabah’s Export performance of major timber products for the period of Jan-Nov 2011, compared with the corresponding period of 2010 is illustrated as above.

Exports of sawn timber decreased in volume and value by 18.6% and 19.7% respectively compared with the corresponding period of 2010. The major markets for Sabah’s sawn timber comprised Thailand, Taiwan, China, South Africa, Japan, Peninsular Malaysia and Netherlands.

Plywood exports decreased by 14.7% in terms of volume and 5.4% in terms of value compared to the corresponding period of 2010. Japan stood as the biggest market destination for Sabah’s plywood followed by Peninsular Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Egypt, Mexico and USA.

The exports of veneer decreased by 49.4% in terms of volume and 42.8% in terms of value. Taiwan was the biggest buyer followed by Korea, Sarawak, Japan and Peninsular Malaysia.

Export moulded wood recorded a decreased by 25.8% in terms of volume, and 18.9% in terms of value. Japan topped the list followed by Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Maldives and Italy.

Export of Laminated board products showed a decrease of 13.9% in terms of volume and 5.1% in terms of value compared to corresponding period of 2010. Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia were the top buyers of Sabah’s Laminated Board.

For the year 2012 the log production is estimated at 2.5 million m3while the total installed processing capacity is around 7 million m3.

Source: http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/55538 

Green Sabah says: Strict implementations and actions should be enforced to prevent illegal logging activities from occuring within the states despite of the government policies. Sustainable forestry management and also controlled logging is important to ensure that the raw materials supply would go smoothly and yet does not cause irrecoverable damage to the environment.