Gov't announces immediate ban on imports of Indonesian logs

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The government today announced a total ban on imports of logs from Indonesia in a bid to protect its furniture industry from charges it uses illegally-felled timber.

The decision was made amid allegations that Malaysia's timber products came from illegal logs from non-sustainable forests in Indonesia, the Ministry of Primary Industries said in a statement.

The ban, which takes effect immediately, was "to give assurance to our buyers that all our timber products are from legal and sustainable sources".

"It is our expectation that the imposition of this import ban will correct whatever misconceptions others have concerning our timber trade," the statement said.

"We do not wish the problem faced by Indonesia to be affecting our overall timber trade."

Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik had earlier proposed the ban after returning from a three-week trip to Europe to promote Malaysia's timber products.

Last year, Malaysia exported RM6.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) worth of furniture, mainly to Europe and the United States.

Need to do more

Some 70 percent of Indonesian logs are estimated to be illegally felled, and Jakarta has banned the export of unprocessed logs in a bid to protect its rainforests.

But timber firms there have urged the government to do more to curb illegal logging, which has flooded the timber market with cheap logs and sent many companies into bankruptcy.

Uncut logs, mainly from Indonesia's Sumatra island, were brought into Malacca, Johor and Sabah.



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