world news - 06.12.2006

Malaysia: Prices of timber products rise across the board

Prices for most timber products rose across the board in late November. Prices of plywood and panel products, in particular, continued to rise, with demand from Japan unabated as the economy sustained its longest economic expansion since World War II. Japan marked its 58th month of economic recovery since January 2002, according to the Japanese Cabinet Office.

Thunderstorms drive log prices up

Thunderstorms continued to drench much of the country, driving prices of logs up in both East and West Malaysia. The supply of rubberwood to the furniture industry entered a critical stage as furniture sales to Middle-Eastern, European and Central American countries picked up. Some Malaysian furniture manufacturers were negotiating intensely with Indonesian rubber trees plantation owners in order to secure supply of raw material.

Log prices