When TTJ asked if I would do the Wood Futures article for this edition, I readily said yes. and then wondered what thoughts I should share at a time like this!
Ideally, the future should see us all using sustainably produced timber, more so tropical timber, with full confidence, knowing that our industry contributions towards sustainable forest management would be the winning ticket towards sustaining the world’s rainforests and our industry. Some of us in the tropics just need more appreciation on local complexities and hard assistance to actively go down this route.
Despite all odds, Malaysia is delivering, step by step, as promised. The relentless support from all our counterparts and industry contacts worldwide has played a large part in the progress achieved to date. The fact that we are also committed to a continuous learning process has a lot to do with it too! We don’t think we know it all, but we at least know what can work.
Opportunities
In his Wood Futures article Andrew Laver accurately highlighted what industry needs to do in the current climate in order to prepare for the immediate and distant future. Funny how societies at disparate ends of the world, from different cultural backgrounds, share common beliefs. Why? Because we share common goals and objectives, perhaps? Like many of you, the Malaysian Timber Council firmly believes that we need to seize every opportunity in the current sea of challenges to assume a positive outlook for the next few years. Most of us, during these trying times, have taken time to re-strategise, realign our priorities and focus clearly on what might lie ahead.
The Malaysian government provided two economic stimuli for the country over the past 12 months. We as an industry body proposed several measures at the national level for our members to help weather the current storm. Responsible purchasing and increasing the use of timber are being actively pursued both at the national and international levels. Green building is now a serious consideration in Malaysia, and demand for certification, whether in terms of sustainability or legality, contrary to public opinion, is ever increasing.
Malaysia is blessed with such a diverse and well-established wood-based sector that it is not only a significant driver in the Malaysian economy but plays an important role in the international trade arena.
Timber revenues
In 2008, Malaysia’s timber industry contributed US$6.6bn or 20.3% of total export earnings in the commodity sector and 3.4% of the country’s total export earnings. Three decades ago, the timber industry was merely involved in upstream processing activities with export receipts of less than US$1.5m. Today, Malaysia is a world producer of both upstream and downstream timber products with over 160 export destinations. In 2008, Malaysia’s total wood exports to the EU were worth just over US$1bn.
There is no time for complacency, now or ever. Timber has always had a sharp edge over its competitors and we should not underrate or undersell ourselves any more. Enough said? Afraid not. The industry itself needs to move away from wanting to showcase the best timber at the cheapest price.
Recent innovations will challenge the solid timber sector even more. Engineered timber products will help us hold some ground and composite products offer further opportunities, although somewhat diluted in terms of timber use. This simply means that timber needs to outshine in terms of quality and environmental credentials, both of which are our strongest points.
Malaysia is keen to voluntarily improve our “footprint” and impact on our world through our working and trade practices without too much prompting from the outside world.
2020 targets
2020 will be a BIG year for Malaysia – the target year to achieve industrialised nation status. There is much else too. Malaysia is targeting timber exports to reach US$15.4bn by 2020, the approximated yield from the systematic and sustainable growth of our industry in the next decade. Log production from our natural forests is estimated to reduce from 22 million m³ in 2007 to approximately 14 million m³ by 2020, and our commercial forest plantation programme is expected to yield 75 million m³ of logs by 2020.
We will expand on product innovation, technology acquisition and pursue mechanisation and automation. The timber industry’s perceived 3D factors – dangerous, difficult and dirty – need to be dispensed with. Reliance of as much as 58% on foreign workers for the timber industry is clearly unsustainable.
By then, I hope Malaysian timber will have left its legacy in at least one out of three Olympic Games – the Malaysian heritage of which both my sons and their children can be proud.
