Demand for timber products in US, UK music to local producers
KUCHING: News that the demand for timber products outstrips supply in the United States and the United Kingdom is music to the ears of Malaysian timber producers.
Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said for that ma er, Malaysia is keen to cooperate with the UK.
“The sanctions on Russian timber products to the US have undoubtedly led to American importers looking for alternative sources of material, especially plywood.
“Like in the case of the US, Malaysia is prepared to work closely with the UK to address the country’s shortage of timber and timber products by sourcing and value-adding from third countries, especially Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification-certified timber products,” said Zuraida.
For the record, the UK is the biggest supporter of the US sanctions on Russian timber.
“Such measures have severely affected the timber market in the UK and the European Union (EU). The sanctions on Russian timber products to the US have undoubtedly led to American importers looking for alternative sources of material, especially plywood.
“Moreover, the on-going trade dispute between the US and China has le Malaysia and Indonesia as the only timber source options for the world’s largest economy,” she said.
Zuraida thus said that Malaysian plywood mills were unable to meet the supply volume demanded by US importers.
“The current market sentiment for Malaysian timber in the US is bright, especially for meranti and keruing. The demand for meranti sawn timber has increased by nine per cent year-on-year while keruing has increased by 467 per cent year-on-year.
“However, shipments from Malaysia are slow. Shortage of logs from natural forest has le Malaysian sawmills struggling to fulfil the increasing demands and orders,” she said.
Another challenge that exporters have to cope with is heavy port congestion that ranges from lack of containers to insufficient vessel space and other logistical constraints, she added.
“Nevertheless, transshipments of timber products have been identified as a potential medium-term solution. In this regard, the US-based International Wood Products Association (IWPA) is eager to speak to Malaysian timber industry leaders on ways and means to address this Issue,” she said.
She said this would entail measures of protecting Malaysia from being targeted by the US domestic timber product association and the US authority on the suspicion of trade circumvention.
Despite facing significant disruptions to the market, the UK import volume of timber products in 2021 rose by 15 per cent – the largest volume of imports seen since 2008.
As of Jan 1, changes in the UK Customs regulations came into effect as the country is on the verge of leaving the European Union’s (EU) Customs Union and Single Market framework.
“As such, the timber industry stands to benefit from many duty-free products and can often avoid the need to claim preferential rates of duty.
“While Malaysia benefits from the UK Customs regulation update, it also hopes that the UK government will further streamline the procedures and document handling to ease the current logistical nightmare situation,” she said.