Sawn timber
An established industry with 822 sawmills in operations
(Peninsular Malaysia (455), Sabah (174) and Sarawak
(193). Export of sawn timber in 2007 amounted to RM2.9
billion mainly to Thailand, the Netherlands, Japan,
People's Republic of China and South Africa.
Panel Products
Plywood
In the panel products sub-sector, plywood remains
a significant contributor (27%) to the total export
earnings of timber products. The range of plywood
produced includes common veneer-faced plywood, overlaid
plywood such as printed paper and polyester plywood,
plywood for concrete formwork and marine plywood.
Malaysian plywood has achieved international standards
such as Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS), British
Standards ( BS) and International Hardwood Products
Association Standards (IHPA) for the US market and
Harmonised European Standards (EN) for Europe market.
Malaysia currently is the largest exporters of tropical
plywood in the world.
Particleboard
In view of the need to maximise the utilisation of
wood resources, the industry has diversified into
the production of high value-added reconstituted panel
products such as particleboard and medium density
fibreboard. The particleboard industry has grown and
currently there are 16 companies in operation. The
industry, over the years has successfully exported
its products particularly for use in the furniture
industry. In 2007, exports amounted to RM371 million
with Indonesia, People's Republic of China, Rep. of
Korea and Vietnam as the main markets.
Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF)
The MDF industry currently has 14 companies in operation
with nine (9) located in Peninsular Malaysia, three
(3) in Sarawak and two (2)in Sabah . Exports for 2007
totalled RM1.18 billion representing 5 per cent of
total timber export earnings. Currently, Malaysia
is the world's third largest exporter of MDF mainly
to AE, Japan,Viet Nam , People's Rep. of China, and
Indonesia. Malaysian MDF has attained international
standards such as BS, Asia-Pacific: Japan Australia
and New Zealand (JANS), and EN standards. A number
of companies have also ventured into the production
of laminated / printed MDF.
Veneered Panels Products
Besides MDF, the industry has continued to develop
engineered products from veneer such as laminated
veneer lumber (LVL), laminated veneer cross-band (LVB)
and laminated veneer sandwich (LVS) to meet the demand
for structural and industrial applications. The industry
combines modern technology with the efficient use
of natural resources to produce these products for
the export market.Besides being environmentally friendly,
these products, with enhanced structural quality to
meet different climatic conditions, are increasingly
being used in the construction industry.
Mouldings and BJC
The products under BJC include architectural mouldings
(panelling, skirting, crowns, and chair rails), doors/windows
and accessories, wooden flooring and wooden railings.
Exports of mouldings and BJC are mostly to the USA,
UK, Australia, Singapore and Denmark. In 2007, exports
of mouldings were RM852 million while BJC registered
RM1.88 billion. The major products under this category
were wooden floorings and wooden doors, and together
they contributed two third of exports of BJC.
Furniture and Fixtures
In 2007, wooden furniture sub-sector placed second
after plywood in terms of contribution in the wood-based
industry (accounting for 27.5 per cent of total export
earnings for the wood sector. During this period,
Malaysia exported RM6.4 billion of wooden furniture
mainly to the USA, UK, Belgium, Germany and Denmark
(total export of furniture in 2006 was RM6.2 billion).
Malaysian furniture industry is highly export-oriented
with over 90% of its production exported. Malaysia
ranks as the 9th largest exporter of furniture and
second in Asia after People's Republic of China, with
exports to more than 160 countries. The export value
of furniture is expected to reach RM10 billion by
2010.
Among the furniture exported are kitchen furniture,
bedroom furniture, upholstered with wooden frame and
office furniture of which over 80 per cent are made
from rubber wood, a light coloured, medium hardwood
popularly called Malaysian oak' . The export of garden/outdoor
furniture from tropical hardwood is mainly for the
European market . The solid tropical wood species
used are known for their durability under different
climatic conditions. Besides these traditional markets,
Malaysian furniture has gained access to the markets
in New Zealand, South America, Middle East, Africa
and Russia. Malaysia is a major supplier of office
furniture to the Middle East market.
Malaysian furniture companies numbering about 2,300
are mainly located in Peninsular Malaysia. A high
concentration of furniture establishments are in Johor
(Muar and Kluang), Selangor (Klang and Sungai Buloh)
and Melaka (Bukit Rambai).
With the challenges from globalisation and liberalisation,
Malaysian furniture manufacturers have given greater
emphasis on the finishing, design and production of
higher quality products with own-brand mostly for
the export market. Some of these companies have moved
from supplying ready-to-assemble furniture towards
manufacturing own-designed furniture.Recognizing the
need to move from designing manually to the use of
Computer Aided Design (CAD), AutoCAD is one of the
popular software system used by Malaysian furniture
manufacturers today. In order to produce designs which
are both functional and aesthetic, Malaysian furniture
companies have ventured to utilise a wide range of
other materials such as metal, glass, plastic and
other composite materials in combination with rubber
wood or other wood species for the increasingly sophisticated
market.
There are over 1.6 million hectares of rubberwood
(Malaysian Oak) plantations in the country with an
estimated 2 million m 3 of wood annually for consumption
mainly from Peninsular Malaysia. In 2005, the production
of rubberwood sawntimber in Peninsular Malaysia increased
to 251,790 cubic metres from 49,929 cubic metres in
1995. However, in 2006, the production declined to
63,743 cubic meters due to the shortage of supply
of rubber trees for harvesting and limited areas for
replanting activity. To ensure adequate supply of
rubberwood, the export of rubberwood sawntimber was
banned effective 8 June 2005.In addition to rubberwood,
Malaysian furniture makers are also using local (Balau,
Kembang Semangkuk and Nyatoh) and imported timbers
(Oak, Maple, Walnut, Mahogany, Rosewood and Teak)
to offer a wider selection of products.
