Ministry encourages more firms to obtain timber certification
KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities is encouraging more Malaysian companies to obtain timber certification to ensure all timber products are manufactured from sustainable sources and certified in compliance with stringent standards.
Its Minister, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, said this was not only to conserve resources but also to continue accessibility to market demanding sustainable products.
“The timber sector is one of the important contributors to our national economy. It contributed RM21.86 billion to the country’s export earnings in 2016.
“It also continues to take Malaysia to the global level through its ranking as one of the world’s top exporters of tropical timber products,” he told reporters after presenting the Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification to Royal Selangor International Sdn Bhd yesterday.
Mah said the CoC, which was under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS), would enable Royal Selangor to label all its wood-based pewter wares attesting compliance of its wooden components to sustainability requirements.
The MTCS is a national timber certification scheme for sustainability developed and operated by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) to confirm the timber products manufactured or traded are sourced from sustainably managed forests. — Bernama