KUCHING: Malaysia remained as the second largest supplier of tropical wooden furniture to United Kingdom (UK) though its export value to Britain fell by three per cent to US$40 million in the first four months of 2026 (4m2026) from a year ago.
Top supplier Vietnam’s lead had widened to US$191 million following a nine per cent jump in shipment year-on-year.
The gap between Malaysia and third largest supplier, India, remains wide as the latter’s shipment to UK dropped by one per cent to US$16 million.
Year-on-year, Indonesia’s wooden furniture export to UK fell by 18 per cent to US$13 million, according to International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (June 16-30, 2026).
However, UK imports from Singapore jumped by 60 per cent from a small base to US$2 million, catching up with Thailand which recorded a two per cent drop in shipment to US$2.5 million.
In 4m2026, UK import bill on wooden furniture grew by three per cent to US$184 million while import quantity increased by two per cent to 48,700 tonnes.
During the January-April 2026 period, UK imported a total of 123,000 tonnes of tropical wood and wooden furniture, which was down six per cent from 4m2025.
In terms of import value, it stood at US$351 million (1% less in nominal terms and over 3% in real terms after taking account of inflation).
On a quarterly basis, import tonnage in 1Q2026 fell by four per cent yearon-year.
“UK imports of tropical wood products have started this year very slowly, continuing at the low level maintained since the end of the COVID pandemic in 2022, and remain around 15 per cent below the pre-pandemic level.
“Prospects for any significant uptick in 2026 remain much muted as the economy is struggling to shift into a higher gear and supply is also a constraint,” said the report.
Besides wooden furniture, there were also good percentage gains in 4m2026 in UK imports of some small volume tropical wood products including mouldings/ decking (+23% to 3,800 tonnes), flooring (+8% to 1,100 tonnes) and kitchenware (+30% to 1,000 tonnes).
However, tropical plywood was down 25 per cent to 22,500 tonnes, joinery was off 12 per cent to 23,000 tonnes and sawnwood dipped four per cent to 18,100 tonnes.
The report said unlike UK imports from the EU and China, which saw massive, unsustainable peaks during the 2020-2022 pandemic peaks, UK imports from the tropics have remained relatively flat over the long term if measured in real dollar terms (adjusted for inflation).
In 4m2026, UK imports of wood joinery from tropical countries fell by 10 per cent to US$67 million as compared to a year ago.
The decline during the period was widespread among major Asian suppliers, particularly affecting Indonesia (-15% to US$31.2 million), Malaysia (-25% to US$7.7 million) and Vietnam (-26% to US$2.5 million).
Imports from China dropped slightly by three per cent to US$8.6 million.
On the other hand, UK imports of tropical wood joinery products from EU27 bucked the trend, surging 18 per cent to US$15 million in 4m2026.
From tropical countries, UK import volume of plywood in 4m2026 slipped by 23 per cent to 42,400 cubic metres (cu m), with the reduction heavily driven by a collapse in shipments from China (-67% to 4,500 cu m). Imports also contracted from major traditional suppliers, including Malaysia (-23% to 14,000 cu m) and Indonesia (-9% to 13,500 cu m).
However, UK shipped 60 per cent more hardwood plywood from EU27 to 3,100 cu m during the same period, with imports from Paraguay jumped by 43 per cent to 2,900 cu m, Brazil by 128 per cent to 1,800 cu m and Gabon by 212 per cent to 800 cu m.
On tropical sawnwood, UK recorded an eight per cent drop in imports in 4m2026 to 25,300 cum.
The drop was mainly due to a sharp correction in imports from the Republic of Congo, which plunged by 42 per cent to 3,500 cu m while shipments from Cameroon fell by seven per cent to 6,600 cu m.
The EU, the largest supplier, reported a 15 per cent drop in shipment to UK to 6,600 cu m.
In contrast, UK increased the imports from Malaysia by eight per cent to 3,900 cu m, and 90 per cent from Brazil to 2,200 cu m.
Malaysia also gained strongly in the exports of tropical decking and mouldings to UK — up 80 per cent to 1,480 tonnes in 4m2026, making the country the largest supplier to Britain.
In 4m2026, UK total imports of tropical decking and mouldings grew by 23 per cent to 3,760 tonnes, including 800 tonnes (+27%) from EU27 and 180 tonnes (+37%) from Brazil.
In contrast, UK slashed imports from Indonesia to 910 tonnes (-7%) and Vietnam to 270 tonnes (-15%) during the same period.
