Myanmar’s timber export market has apparently declined as international purchase power falls, triggered by the global economic crisis, reported the local Weekly Eleven News Tuesday (November 25, 2008).
Quoting a recent paper reading session involving timber entrepreneurs, the report said that in Myanmar’s legal teak export market, India took up 38 percent, standing atop, followed by Europe with 20 percent and North America 10 percent.
As such countries as India, China and European’s are facing economic crisis, Myanmar’s timber export market are also being impacted, it said.
China stands as Myanmar’s largest consumer of tropical wood, while India lines up as the second.
Some experts also viewed that along with the increased large- scale infrastructural construction in China, demand of timber would certainly be high giving rise to more opportunity to Myanmar’s timber export.
Meanwhile, as the market prices of teak worldwide rises, the inclusion of teak in furniture shows remain with only about 5-10 percent, the paper reading session said, however, adding that the teak prices remain steady at 1.5-2.0 million Kyats (1,250-1,660 U. S. dollars) per ton.
According to market survey, parquet was priced as 4,500 to 5,000 U.S. dollars per ton previously, while it is now quoted at only around 3,500 dollars per ton.
Myanmar held furniture shows occasionally since 2004 to introduce the country’s value-added wood products to the world market since export of wood log is restricted and export of teak log by the private sector also banned since 1992 when the government enacted the Forest law.
According to official statistics, Myanmar exported 399,596 cubic-meters of teak and 1.12 million cubic-meters of hardwood in the fiscal year of 2007-08 which ended in March, gaining a total of 538 million U.S. dollars of foreign exchange.
During the year, timber stood as the country’s fourth largest export goods after natural gas, agricultural produces and mineral products.
Myanmar is rich in forest resources with forest covering about 50 percent of its total land area.
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