07/06/2017 (Borneo Post Online) - KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Timber Association (MTA) has urged the government to focus on improving quality and increasing usage of oil palm trunks through research, science and technology.

In a statement yesterday, the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry said the proposal was part of a summary of findings from a workshop organised by the MTA last year.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the government had agreed to look into the need to establish a Special Committee on Oil Palm Trunk, comprising representatives from the ministry, government agencies related to oil palm and timber as well as industry players.

He said the synergy between oil palm and the nation’s timber industry can boost economic growth.

The ministry said a study by the Malaysian Timber Industry Board in 2015 revealed that 4.6 hectares of matured oil palm trunks resulting from replanting efforts were in good condition and had the potential to be turned into raw materials to meet the demands of the timber industry.

It said the timber industry was a main export commodity for Malaysia, contributing RM21.86 billion to export earnings.

For the first quarter of 2017, timber and timber product exports increased by 5.4 per cent to RM5.9 billion, compared to RM5.6 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2016.