Despite many global changes, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) hopes that Malaysia will be able to keep growing timber production this year, according to Bernama.
Datuk Abdul Rahim Nik, the Chief Executive Officer of MTC, stated that the exports of timber and timber products, such as wooden and rattan furniture, plywood and sawn timber, have went up to RM 22.1 billion in 2015, 6.5% higher than 2014.
During the MTC Marketing Seminar themed, "Current Market Development and Outlook for Malaysian Timber Products and Furniture in China, India, Europe, the Middle East, the Philippines and the US", Datuk Abdul Rahim Nik said that exports for furniture alone have increased to RM 9 billion in 2015, 14% higher than the previous year.
Even if the optimistic outlook of 2016’s timber activities is already a go for MTC, this is still region-based and it depends on a lot of factors. The industry members should thus consider new markets and explore new opportunities.
"Therefore, there was a need to update industry players on opportunities and challenges that lie in various key markets. We are now looking at India, which imported about RM 1.89 billion worth of furniture in 2015 and China which also registered growth besides other key markets like the United States, Japan and Australia," said Abdul Rahim.
Datuk Seri Douglas Unggah Embas, the Minister of the Plantation Industries and Commodities, stated that the timber industry holds for 2.8% of Malaysia’s total merchandise export and that the industry should also reach potential buyers by investing in e-commerce platforms.
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