TSL TIMBER SDN BHD, established in 1994 by mr. Lau Tiam Siah is one of the leading sawmills in Malaysia, specialized in Meranti for the European, Middle-East and Malaysian timber market. With an annual turnover of approximately 7,000 tons of sawntimber TSL TIMBER is aware of the importance of sustainable forest management. That's why TSL TIMBER is fully committed to the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification ( PEFC ) Mr. Lau has been active more than 35 years in the Malaysian timber business. We sell our timber to either Malaysian timber exporters and producers or via Greenwood International, which is our European representative.
Malaysia will spend up to RM3bil to increase timber plantations in a bid to ensure the sustainability of wood-related industries. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that they hoped to increase timber plantations to 375,000ha by 2020. "We need to ensure the sustainability of the raw material for the wood industry. This industry is important for the country as it generated RM20bil in exports last year," he said.The wood industry contributed 14.1% of exports for the commodity industry totalling RM141.2bil last year, he told reporters at the launch of the Glu Laminated Timber gallery in Johor Baru here on Tuesday. He said that, so far, RM600mil had been spent on programmes to increase timber plantations nationwide.
Malaysia's timber products will use the "green lane" to the European market next year, in line with the implementation of the European Union's (EU) timber trade legislation, says the EU ambassador Vincent Piket. Malaysia is undertaking a bilateral voluntary partnership with the EU under its Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action plan to ensure that only licensed and certified timber enter the EU markets. Malaysian Timber Certification Council chairman Datuk Dr Freezailah Che Yeom said negotiations will come to an end possibly "within this quarter".
"We have made substantial progress and hope to conclude (talks) fairly soon," he told a media briefing after the launch of FLEGT Asia in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Dr Freezailah, who is adviser to the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities on the negotiations with the EU, said the talks involve consultations between over 100 stakeholders, including industry players, the government and non-government organisations. "Some stakeholders feel that it (FLEGT) is too stringent at this point of time, while others feel it is not stringent enough. "Malaysia has to strike a delicate balance but nonetheless, we have a strong commitment (to the plan) and where there is a will there is a way," he added. The "grey" zone is to strike the boundary, between legality and sustainability, he said.
Wood product exports to the EU have risen from RM2 billion to RM3.3 billion in 2006, with the growing trend towards increased sourcing of furniture and joinery products from the far east. In 2006, the EU imports of Malaysian wood products comprised RM1.2 billion of wood furniture, RM1.1 billion of sawnwood and RM414 million of plywood. The main European markets are the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy. Over the last five years, there has been particularly strong growth in European imports of Malaysian wood furniture, plywood and mouldings. Peninsular Malaysia was the main source of the wood furniture, while Sabah accounted for sawn timber and Sarawak mostly for plywood.
Apart from Malaysia, the EU is also undertaking negotiations with Indonesia. In 2007, these two countries combined, accounted for a total of RM6 billion worth of timber trade with the EU. The EU now also plans to expand the FLEGT programme to the rest of Asia. The European Forest Institute, a Finnish-based organisation will expand the FLEGT outreach to other countries from Kuala Lumpur. The FLEGT Asia programme will be carried out in the Mekong region, in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.
