PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – The Malaysian government announced it plans to continue to limit the amount of sawn timber exports, including rubberwood, a major component of both solid wood and veneered adult and youth furniture made in Malaysia.

According to a report in the Borneo Post, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities said it will continue the moratorium to “further encourage sawn timber suppliers to give priority to the domestic market.”

The decision, the report said, followed a meeting that Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong chaired on Monday with members of the Malaysia Furniture Council, who communicated the importance ensuring an adequate supply of raw materials for furniture production.The supply of rubberwood and other hardwoods has been an issue as China has purchased large quantities of these materials for the construction and furniture industries.

“In this regard, the ministry stressed that it will continue to be committed to ensuring adequate supply of raw materials to the furniture industry, 80 per cent of which are rubberwood,” he told the paper.

For more visit: http://www.theborneopost.com/2018/01/08/ministry-to-continue-maintain-moratorium-on-sawn-timber-exports/