KUCHING, May 2: Industry players are being urged to capitalise on timber from planted forests to produce high-value-added products such as engineered wood, panels, and furniture.
According to a press release issued in conjunction with the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation’s (STIDC) 50th Anniversary, timber from planted forests is also used to produce primary products such as veneer, plywood, sawn timber, and wood chips. Other products include medium-density fibreboard (MDF), particle board, components/parts, furniture, and pellets.
STIDC mentioned that in the future, timber from planted forests will be used to manufacture engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), cross-laminated timber (CLT), and glued laminated timber (glulam), as well as panel products such as oriented strand board (OSB) and chipboard.
It also explained that planted forests are vital in mitigating pressure and minimising reliance on raw materials from natural forests.
“Under the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, the timber industry was identified as one of the important economic sectors to generate RM8 billion export earnings annually to transform Sarawak into a developed State by 2030.
“The timber industry, therefore, must embrace changes and transformation from primary into high value-added processing such as panel-based, engineered wood, furniture, and bamboo-based products,” it stated in a press release.
STIDC also stated that all long-term timber licensees in Sarawak will be fully certified to comply with the sustainable forest management system by 2025.
As per the press release, Sarawak began producing 92,533 cubic metres of timber from planted forests in 2011, with the volume increasing to 1.13 million cubic metres by 2022.
“The State government is encouraging LPF owners to certify their forest plantations.
“Forest certification has been an essential part of forest management in recent years as it has direct influences on forestland ownership, forest product marketing, and forest stewardship.
“Some of the benefits of forest certification include greater access to markets, a price premium from some buyers, a healthier forest, better environmental practices, better long-term management planning, less waste, personal and community pride in knowing the forest is well-managed, and a path for the continuous improvement of forest management,” it added. — DayakDaily
