Unkindly cut during lockdown cost us RM3bil, says timber industry
GEORGE TOWN: The timber industry today pleaded with the government to allow them to operate during the lockdown as it has cost them over RM3 billion in losses for the whole month of June.
Timber-related companies have not been allowed to operate since June 1 under the SOPs issued by the National Security Council (MKN), except for factories producing furniture for hospitals and other medical-related matters.
However, furniture factories making products for export have since been allowed to resume operations in states which have been placed under the second phase of the national recovery plan.
Malaysian Timber Association (MTA) president Goh Chee Yew said with the second phase in effect in a few states and in select timber industries, the industry was not totally out of the woods.
However, he said with the present restrictions in place, its nine members representing the majority of the timber and timber products sector are still losing money, and had lost a total of RM67 million every day last month.
Goh said the industry at large has strictly complied with SOPs when it was allowed to operate during the past year.
He said placing the industry on a blanket negative list since June 1 was also most unfortunate, as the demand from the United States and European markets have risen driven by economic growth in these countries.
“The buoyant demand for Malaysian timber products usually coincides with the summer months of June to August.
“The summer spending season is one of the best months for our exporters to lock in good sales for the year. If we miss out on the summer months, the exporters would suffer a double whammy as turnover is reduced,” he told FMT.
Goh added that as a result of the restrictions here, most orders were headed to Indonesia and other neighbouring countries, as there was no ban on the timber industry there.
The association represents nine major timber trade groups in the country and had appealed to the prime minister in writing last month.
The export of wood-based products had increased in the first quarter of this year at a rate of 9.9% to RM6 billion, the Malaysian Timber Council reported.
The country exported RM22 billion worth of timber and its related products during the whole of last year. Its biggest market is the United States, with 60% of furniture products heading there. Walmart and other distributors take the lion’s share, the Malaysian Timber Industry Board reported in March.
Goh said the present demand for coffins and caskets, which had been high, would also not be met due to the ban.
He added that ideally, the government should allow at least 60% to 80% of the workforce to operate, on the condition that every worker is given one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. He said the Malaysian Timber Council was already working on a large-scale vaccination programme which will kick start this month. - FMT
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