Timber prices in Malaysia remained strong in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, with Far Eastern firms turning to Sarawak suppliers to address a shortfall in log supplies.
The International Tropical Timber Organisation’s Tropical Timber Market report said the cyclone had “crippled” Myanmar’s logistics and shipping system, leading Chinese and Indian firms to look at supply routes out of Sarawak.
Conversely, the high price of Sarawak logs has seen Thai buyers start to source logs from Cambodia, according to the latest report.