Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok has called for the restructuring of the Sabah timber industry by focusing on downstream activities.
He said there was plenty of room and potential to be explored, and continuous efforts were necessary to promote the development of value-added products at the downstream level.
Last year, he said, the state’s exports of timber and wood-based products totalled RM2.5 billion with plywood contributing RM1.2 billion, followed by sawn timber (RM641 million) and logs (RM225 million).
Dompok revealed that the export of timber, and wood-based products from Sabah comprised 12 percent of the country’s total exports.
Speaking at the launch of the National Timber Industry Policy Laboratory by Chief Minister Musa Aman here today, he said the production and export of value-added products were still low.
“About 83 per cent of Sabah exports are primary products and only 13 per cent are value-added products,” he said.
— Bernama
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