KUALA LUMPUR – Recovering from the pandemic, exports of timber industry products rose 3.4% in 2021 to RM20.4 billion supported by both manufactured and agricultural timber products, the Statistics Department (DoSM) said.
In a statement today, DoSM said exports of manufactured wood products represented 81.3% of overall timber industry exports in 2021 with a value of RM16.6 billion, while agricultural wood products accounted for 18.7% or RM3.8 billion.
“Malaysia’s timber industry exports have fluctuated for the past 32 years, once peaking in 2006 at RM22.9 billion.
“Japan is a significant export destination for Malaysia’s timber products, contributing 30.1% share or RM2.1 billion in 2021,” chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said.
DoSM said imports of agricultural wood products also showed an increasing trend, rising on average of 11.2% annually between 1990 and 2021 to fulfil demand for intermediate input of the expanding wood manufacturing industry.
In terms of imports, the value of Malaysia’s imports of timber products was RM3.2 billion in 2021, increasing steadily over the years compared with RM65.9 million in 1990, with Indonesia and China being the most significant countries of origin for timber imports in 2021, valued at RM700 million and RM600 million respectively.
Uzir said Malaysia’s furniture industry was also booming in tandem with the manufacturing sector’s performance.
“The export value of furniture products amounted to RM1.6 billion, and accounted for 2% of total exports in 1990.
“It was spotted soaring along the way to RM16.6 billion in 2021. The average annual growth rate of this product between 1990 to 2021 is at 7.9%,” he said.
Uzir said the United States, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom, and Australia were the top five countries of destination for wooden furniture exports.
Meanwhile, he said furniture imports amounted to RM5.7 billion in 2021, with China dominating as the major country of origin of other wooden furniture since 2008. – Bernama, December 21, 2022
