KUCHING: Sarawak’s wood products export recorded a drop by 12 per cent to RM3.48 billion in the first nine months of this year against RM3.96 billion registered in the same period last year.
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan attributed the decline to the global economic uncertainty as well as a drop in the production of timber from natural forests.
Awang Tengah who is also the state’s International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development Minister said export to Japan, which remained the largest export market for Sarawak’s wood products, saw a drop by 13 per cent to RM1.7 billion for the period under review from RM1.9 billion posted in the same period last year.
Besides Japan, four other major export markets for the state’s wood products are India (RM394 million), the middle east countries (RM327 million), Taiwan (RM239 million) and Korea (RM193 million), he told reporters after officiating the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation’s Integrity Day 2019, here today.
Awang Tengah said in terms of products, plywood remained as Sarawak’s key wood product export valued at RM1.76 billion for the period under review.
Other products are logs (RM547 million), sawn timber (RM451 million), fibreboard (RM264 million) and veneer (RM72 million), he said. – Bernama
