MTC 01

Malaysian Timber Exports Hit $12.58b in 2018

Business

The Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) will be organizing its first timber conference on 18 October 2018 at 9am at the Le Meridien Hotel here. A landmark event under MTC’s calendar, the Malaysian Timber Conference with its theme “Towards A Better Tomorrow”, will see nine experts providing their inputs on how Malaysian timber-based manufacturers can overcome the challenges they are facing.

Solutions to raw material shortages, needs for automation and tackling trade-related matters are some of the key areas that will be discussed and deliberated at length by some of the sharpest minds in both the economic and timber sectors.


The Malaysian timber industry contributes about 1.7% to the national GDP with export earnings of RM23.2 billion in 2017 and as at July 2018, export of timber and timber products had reached RM12.58 billion.

“There is no denying the contributions that the timber sector has on the economy and Malaysia needs to ensure that the timber industry maintains its relevance as a viable economic contributor. As such, we cannot lose sight of the imperatives that will sustain and enhance Malaysia’s timber-based industry,” said MTC CEO Richard Yu.

“Nine speakers from Italy, Finland, Switzerland and Malaysia will provide detailed takeaways on how to stay abreast of the timber sector’s changing landscapes. The global economic outlook, the timber demand and supply worldwide, the necessity for certification which proves that we are extracting our timbers in a sustainable and legal manner and the need to embrace technology in relation to IR4.0 as well as commercialization of research findings form the crux of the conference presentations,” added Yu.

The nine speakers are Alan Tan, Dr Ed Pepke, Peter Latham, Sylvia Weichenberger, Dr Gan Kee Seng, Ng Kheng Joo, Laurent Maillefer, Dato’ Nor Akhirrudin Mahmud and Yu.

Tan is the Chief Economist at Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd while Pepke is the Senior Timber Trade and Policy Analyst at the European Forest Institute. He is also an Associate at Dovetail Partners, Inc., which is an environmental think tank in the US. Latham is the Chairman of PEFC International, Switzerland, and Weichenberger is the Partner and Senior Expert of the Centre for Industrial Studies, Italy. Gan is the Director of Forest Products Division from the Forest Research Institute Malaysia while Ng is the Technical Director and Co-Founder of Novetec Innovation Sdn Bhd. Maillefer is the Vice-President, Robotics – ABB Malaysia while Nor Akhirrudin is the Director-General of Forestry, Peninsular Malaysia.

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