Malaysia To Expand Timber Trade With India.

NEW DELHI,  Buoyed by rising demand for timber products in India, Malaysia is drawing plans to expand its timber trade with India -- boosting exports and inviting Indian companies to invest in Sarawak.

A delegation led by Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk G. Palanivel and Malaysian Timber Council have arrived here for talks with local players.

India is Malaysia's third largest export market for timber and wood-based products, with exports amounting to RM1.3 billion in 2009.

With India's demand for timber-related products doubling every three years, largely spurred by rising economic prosperity, it could well serve as a potential market for Malaysian exporters, say industry players.

"India is a major importer of our wood-based products, we want to increase exports of finished and semi-finished products.

"We also like to come to India for downstream activities and invite Indians to Malaysia for joint ventures," Palanivel told Bernama.

Besides trading, Malaysia is also looking at options to set up operations in India and export wood-based products to the international market.

"We can also use India as a springboard to export to third countries. If we come to India, there are a lot of incentives. If they come to Malaysia, Indian companies can export finished products to Asean countries," he said.

At the dialogue session today, Palanivel stressed that Malaysia was environment conscious and adopted sustainable forest development practices.

He said the government proposed to plant 375,000 hectares of timber species by 2020 to ensure continuous timber supply.

Palanivel, who will be in New Delhi from Jan 5 to 9, will also attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference over the weekend.

Source : bernama.com.my