KUCHING: A total of 280 registered exhibitors, comprising local and international participants from Vietnam, Korea, China, India and Indonesia, are taking up 494 booths at the Sarawak Timber and Small Entrepreneurs (SMEs) Expo 2017 which is being held here at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) from yesterday till 21 May.
The four-day exposition is jointly organised by the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) and Ministry of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, Trade and Investment.
Themed ‘Timber and Beyond’, the exposition is aimed to provide business opportunities for exhibitors to promote their products as well as a platform to increase sales and business cooperation relationship.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Haji Johari Tun Openg said the Expo should be seen as a strategic collaboration between the local timber suppliers, furniture manufacturers and SMEs towards building a strong market for Sarawak-made products.
“I believe the participation from the international exhibitors would further enhance business networking and at the same time, promoting Sarawak’s products.
“There are tremendous potentials for Sarawak to enhance and develop synergies in trade and investment through this Expo,” he said.
Creation of House of Acacia, Bamboo Gallery lauded
He also conveyed his appreciation to the organisers for the recreation of House of Acacia – a research and development (R&D) project on Acacia by STIDC and Samling Group of Companies and the introduction and creation of Bamboo Gallery.
“It is my fervent hope that these initiatives will translate into producing and creating self-branding and image for Sarawak-made furniture and timber products that could penetrate the international market.
“The House of Acacia has also proven that our Acacia species could be utilised to produce high quality furniture and timber products to cater for both local and international markets,” he said, adding that he hoped to see more of this kind of fruitful collaboration between the government and the private sector in future.
Citing that the timber industry would continue to play a significant role in Sarawak’s economic growth in the years to come as it remains a vital revenue earner to the state, the Chief Minister said this could be achieved with the support of the industry players towards the implementation of appropriate sustainable industry structure framework and aggresive R&D initiatives to produce high value added products.
He said the government would continue to support and promote the development of the state furniture industry in order to be competitive in the global market.
He also called on the furniture industry players to move forward in tandem with the government efforts in developing the furniture industry towards achieving its global position by 2030.
“The government realised the depleting natural forest resources and has taken the necessary measures to address this issue. To mitigate this issue on a long term basis, the government had introduced a policy on planted forest since 1997.
“In view of the slow progress in the development of forest plantation in the state, there is a need to pursue aggressively of timber resources. It is also important that the quality of planted forests be given special attention through R&D and best management practices,” he said.
He hoped tree plantation would eventually ensure the adequate and continuous supply of logs for the timber industry in future, thus reducing the harvesting pressure on natural forests.
To ensure that the issuance of short term timber licences is made in a transparent manner, Abang Johari pointed out that such licences would only be issued for state land forest which had been approved for development and Native Customary Land (NCL) Development Area and Native Communal Reserve that would undergo development.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the major timber industry players and their respective buyers with a total sales contract of RM80 million.
Among the timber industry major players are Samling Group of Companies, KTS Group of Companies, Shin Yang Group of Companies, Ta Ann Group of Companies, RH Group of Companies and WTK Group of Companies.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, Assistant Minister of Entrepreneur and Small, Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Datuk Haji Mohd Naroden Majais, Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Haji Julaihi Narawi, Assistant MInister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh and members of STIDC Board of Management.
