In Sarawak, this year's state-level International Day of Forests was commemorated on 22 March 2014 at Tanjung Manis Township Ri. Honorable Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, Minister of Planning and Resource Management II as well as Minister of Public Utilities and Minister of Industrial Development of Sarawak celebrated Tanjung Manis Day on 22 March 2014. Commencement of Tanjung Manis Day and International Day of Forestry 2014 by Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah (3rd right) and other VIPs.
The 77,000-hectare Tanjung Manis Halal Hub is considered the largest halal hub in the region. The state government invested RM2 billion in Tanjung Manis while another RM2 billion investment came from the private sector. In 1984, STIDC under the. To answer the global food security issue, Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah said the economic activities of Tanjung Manis have been further diversified.
This includes the plan to develop the 77,000 hectares Tanjung Manis Halal Hub in 2009, slated as the largest halal hub in the region. Tanjung Manis was also chosen as the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) to meet the need for the development of Central Palm Oil (CPO) processing infrastructure in the Central Region. In the near future, the minister said, Tanjung Manis is poised to see the construction of a 27-storey Tanjung Manis Complex to house the Integrated Administrative Centre.
The state government had invested RM2 billion in Tanjung Manis, while another RM2 billion investment came from the private sector.
FURNITURE
TAnJUnG MAnIS PoRT
The next phase of development will depend on the demand for better facilities to cater for more cargo volume generated by other industries such as palm oil industrial cluster (POIC), shipbuilding, timber and Tanjung Manis Halal Hub. With the development of the new township in Tanjung Manis starting in 2014, TMP is growing together with the Port City until 2020 and beyond” Mdm. The establishment of the Tanjung Manis Port Authority (TMPA) in April 2012 envisages accelerating the development of Tanjung Manis Port by ensuring a well-planned and coordinated port development to meet current and future needs.
Tanjung Manis Integrated Port Sendirian Berhad (TMP) was commissioned as the port operator by the Sarawak Government in February 2009 to operate, manage and develop the port. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC), TMP had officially commenced operations in July 2009. Sadiah Binti Tu pointed out that TMP had achieved significant growth, particularly in containerized cargo handling.
Due to rapid growth, she said TMP is now expanding the port in terms of berthing space as well as container storage area. She disclosed that the port renovation project includes extension of wharf by 100 meters, extension of open. Going forward, TMPA General Manager Tuan Haji Latiff Bin Coupon said the immediate plan is to look at improving accessibility and safety of navigation of the canal to ensure palm oil tankers' accessibility on a 24-hour basis.
TMPA will also consider the feasibility study of the need to develop a dedicated container terminal in Tanjung Manis in line with the state government's efforts to develop the Tanjung Manis Halal Hub. Due to rapid growth, TMP is now expanding the port in terms of berthing space as well as container storage area.
Ionwood
FLOORING
Ionwood floors are dimensionally stable and less susceptible to variations in humidity and temperature because the wood expands and contracts in the direction of the grain of the wood. Tests conducted by the Japan Association of Ion Research (JAIRA), China National Analytical Center (NACC) and SGS Switzerland showed that IONWOOD emits more than 3,000 units of negative ions per minute. Studies have shown that these negative ions help our bodies maintain and improve our health.
Staining is also used in the manufacturing and design process to add color and enhance the natural color tone of the wood. Ion wood floors come in two shades; from the palest original wood color to the rich, darker shades of mocha. Professor Philipp Lenard, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, discovered that the shearing forces of water droplets, known as the Lenard effect, create a massive amount of negative ions.
According to Noboru Horiguchi, a medical scientist who has published many clinical data on negative ions, the risk of disease can be greatly reduced by breathing fresh air filled with negative ions. These negative ions, also known as "air vitamins", are abundant in forests. The surface of the Ionwood flooring is coated with 12 layers of undercoat varnish and a layer of final topcoat varnish.
Thus, users can be sure that no liquid will be able to seep through the floor surfaces, keeping them always shiny and in good condition. An experiment tested on the floor surface using a diamond needle showed that the floor surface is scratch resistant rated as 4H. The company is a growing wooden flooring manufacturer in Malaysia and Ionwood has rapidly gained recognition among the flooring industry for its multi-layer engineered hardwood flooring that is capable of emitting negative ions.
Epro Ionwood Sendirian Berhad is one of the authorized dealers of the company, which is located in Kuching, Sarawak. Sarawak's timber sector contributed RM7.1 billion to the state's revenue in 2013, which fell 5% from RM7.4 billion in the previous year. Despite the overall decline in the value of exports, in 2013 there was an increase in the value of plywood (0.19%), chipboard (3.9%) and wood chips (17%) respectively compared to the previous year in 2012 .
The export volume of the sawn timber to Philippines increased by 7% compared to similar period of the previous year. Exports of sawn timber to the Philippines, Thailand and the Middle East accounted for 69% of the total volume of sawn timber and contributed 62% to the overall value of sawn timber for January to December 2013. The export volume of plywood to Japan, Middle East and Korea increased by and 20% respectively for 2013 compared to that same period of the previous year.
Exports of plywood to Japan, Middle East and Korea accounted for 77% of the total volume of sawn timber and contributed 76% to the overall value of sawn timber for January to December 2013. OUTLOOK • Export volume of logs and wood products decreased by 10% in 2013 to 6.7 million m3 from 7.4 million m3 due to lower demand from importing countries. There was a decrease in the overall volume of three major products such as plywood, timber and sawn timber.
However, Japan is very likely to increase its imports of plywood from Sarawak for 2014, partly attributed to Japan hosting the Olympics in 2020. South Korea is also set to increase its imports of plywood when the three-year anti- -dumping for Malaysian plywood expire at the end of February 2014. Japanese companies operating in Sarawak held a closed-door meeting last month to discuss various issues including the capacity to supply plywood from Sarawak.
Despite the overall increase in export volume, there was increase for chipboard (8%) and wood chips (16%) compared to the corresponding period in 2012. Looking at the future prospects of the timber industry, demand for timber and timber products in It is expected that 2014 will steadily grow at least the same amount as in 2013. Finally, it is hoped that industry players will make extra efforts to promote downstream activities to add value to end products for better returns.
Being the largest state in the country, Sarawak should capitalize on its rich forest resources for the vibrant furniture industry and value-added products to generate more revenue for the state.
Sarawak
