Wood-based Industries and Timber Trade

Processing Activities

Timber processing was amongst the earliest of Sarawak's manufacturing activities. Sawmills were established in the late 1940's and 1950's to process mainly ramin logs.

Over the last two decades, the wood-based industry of Sarawak has been transformed in terms of sophistication, diversity and production. There have been increased automation, quality control and production of value-added timber products.

The State has 5 industrial development objectives as outlined below:

• Efficient forest harvesting and utilization of forest produce;
• Diversification of the wood-based industrial sector;
• Export of more value-added forest products while ensuring that domestic needs are met;
• Wider use of under-utilized or lesser known species; and,
• Development of new timber processsing activities.

In pursuing the aforesaid objectives, the State Government formulates and implements policies conducive to the orderly development of the industry and renders assistance by:

• conducting research and training through a joint technical cooperation programme with the Sarawak timber Association (STA);
• providing technical training and research through the Forest Department; and
• conducting technical training and providing market intelligence services through the Sarawak Timber Industries Development Corporation (STIDC).

Investment Incentives

A host of attractive incentives has been provided by the Federal Government to entrepreneurs who are keen to invest in downstream processing ventures. For more, please visit the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority Website: http://www.mida.gov.my/

Importance

For a long time, the forest and forest industry sector has been an important foreign-exchange earner for Sarawak. It started with the export of round logs in the 1950's and 40 years later, log export still dominates.

The Sarawak forest and forest industry sector plays a very important part in Sarawak's economy as well as in Malaysia as a whole. The total State external earnings for 2000 was RM 31.0 billion (preliminary figure), of which Sarawak Timber Sector contributed 21 percent with RM 6.5 billion. For the whole of Malaysia, Sarawak Timber Sector contributed approximately 37 percent to the total Malaysia timber export earnings of estimated RM 17.7 billion.

For further enquiry, please contact us