KUCHING: Malaysia has exported about RM7.73 million worth of wood products to Japan, a key market for especially wooden bedroom furniture and furniture parts, in May 2025.
For the month under review, Malaysia shipped RM3.54 million worth of bedroom furniture (HS940350) and was the third largest supplier after China and Vietnam to Japan.
Out of about RM76 million worth of wooden furniture imported by Japan in May, China took the lion share of RM48.3 million and Vietnam, RM22 million, according to data from Japan Finance Ministry quoted by International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (July 16-31, 2025).
Other main suppliers to Japan were Thailand, Indonesia and Poland.
“May marked a steading of the value of imports of HS 940350 after a volatile start to the year. The top shippers to Japan in May were China, 64 per cent of the total but down 6 per cent month-on-month, and Vietnam, 29 per cent but down 37 per cent month-on-month. Malaysia and Thailand were the other shippers of note in May, together accounting for around 6 per cent of the value of arrivals.
“Year-on-year, there was a 19 per cent decline in the value of wooden bedroom furniture in May and compared to April, arrivals in May were down 22 per cent,” said the report.
In May, Japan’s import bill on wooden furniture parts from 26 countries amounted to RM56.65 million. Again, China was the largest supplier, with shipments worth RM26.76 million, followed by Indonesia (RM10.99 million), Vietnam (RM7.12 million) and Malaysia (RM3.58 million).
“In May, there was a further decline in the value of wooden furniture parts imports and this was the second monthly decline.
The value of May 2025 imports was almost the same as in April 2024, and compared to May 2024, there was little change.
“Shippers in China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia accounted for most of Japan’s imports of wooden furniture parts (HS 940391) in May 2025. Of the total value of imports, 47 per cent was delivered from China (50% in April 2025), 19 per cent from Indonesia (17%), 12 per cent from Vietnam (13%) and Malaysia which secured a 5 per cent share of May imports.
“The value of imports from Italy and Germany rose in May, and there was also a rise in the value of imports from the US,” said the ITTO report.
On wooden office furniture (HS 940330), Malaysia was the third largest supplier to Japan although the export value was fairly small (RM221,292) as compared to largest supplier, China (RM6.66 million). Out of the RM7.75 million worth of imports for the month, the United Kingdom was ahead of Malaysia, with shipments worth RM274,667.
“In May, shippers in China accounted for 86 per cent of Japan’s imports of wooden office furniture. The other significant sources were the UK (a new addition to sources), Malaysia (3%). May shipments from suppliers in China were up 11 per cent while shippers in Malaysia were down around 6 per cent month-on-month. These three shippers accounted for over 90 per cent of May arrivals. The other source of wooden office furniture imports were EU member countries (around 9%) with the balance coming from Italy and Vietnam.”
Malaysia also exported wooden kitchen furniture (HS 940340) worth RM388,465 to Japan in May 2025, and was a minor supplier. As in previous months, the Philippines and Vietnam dominated the supply to Japan, with exports valued at RM21.38 million and RM12.53 million respectively for the month. The two countries accounted for more than 80 per cent of Japan’s imports.
“Shippers in the Philippines accounted for around 51 per cent of total arrivals in May, down 6 per cent from a month earlier.
Imports from shippers in Vietnam accounted for a further 30 per cent, also down sharply (20%) month-on-month.
“May arrivals from China were around the same level in April but arrivals from, Germany, previously a significant supplier, dropped over 50 per cent.
“Year-on-year, there was a 10 per cent decline in the value of Japan’s wooden kitchen furniture imports and compared to the value of April arrivals, there was a 22 per cent decline,” added the ITTO report.
Meanwhile, Japan’s monthly housing starts had experienced volatility, with the April 2025 figures shown that these plummeted to 56,188 units, a 37 per cent drop from March’s unusual surged, and marked a 27 per cent decline year-on-year.
“This sharp reversal from March underscores the fragility of a sector now caught between cyclical volatility and an irreversible slowdown.
“Japan’s housing crisis is rooted in its shrinking population. With 8 million abandoned homes (14% of total housing stock) and projections of over 20 million vacant units by 2033. Even if immigration reforms attract 800,000 foreign workers by 2029, they will barely offset annual population losses.
“Fewer households mean fewer buyers and it gets worse overtime as construction costs continue to rise due to labour shortages. Real estate prices, up almost 3 per cent in early 2024, have stagnated after inflation adjustments. This “price ceiling” traps developers in a low-margin, high-risk situation,” say analysts.
