The Government plans to allocate RM3bil to expand the country’s forest plantation by up to 375,000ha by 2020 to ensure sustainable and a guaranteed supply of raw materials for the wood-related industry.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said to date, the Government had allocated about RM600mil for the forest plantation programme.
“The Government is upbeat on the prospects of the wood-related industry and the allocation (financial) reflects our commitment in its development,” he said yesterday.
Muhyiddin was speaking at the opening of the Malaysian Timber Industry Board showroom - Glulam Gallery (glue-laminated timber) made of tropical hardwood such as ironwood (belian), keruing and resak.
Also present at the ceremony were Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
Muhyiddin said the wood-related industry was one of the main revenue earners, generating a yearly export income of RM21.7bil from 2006 until 2010 and creating 300,000 job opportunities.
He said the wood-based industry contributed RM20bil in export revenue last year, representing 14.1 per cent of the total RM141.2bil of the country’s commodities exports.
He said wooden furniture remained Malaysia’s main wood-based product for export and in 2011, the total furniture exported amounted to RM6.5bil or 32.5 per cent of the total wood-based products.
“Malaysia is the eighth largest furniture exporter in the world and third in Asia,” said Muhyiddin.
He said the plantation and commodity industries must continue their effort to develop the country’s wood-based industry by producing higher quality products and strengthening the export market.
Muhyiddin said with the National Timber Industry Plan, Malaysia could achieve the target of exporting RM53bil of wood-based products and emerge as the top three furniture exporters in the world by 2020.
He said in order for Malaysia to achieve that status, the local furniture makers must shift from own equipment manufacturing to own design manufacturing and own brand manufacturing.
