He said the state’s timber exports from January to September amounted to RM2.8 billion compared with RM3.5 billion in the same period last year.

Exports of plywood, the main timber product, dropped by 17% to RM1.5 billion compared with RM1.8 billion in 2019.

Awang Tengah said exports to all major markets, including Japan, India, the Middle East and Korea, have dropped.

He said Japan remains the top buyer of Sarawakian timber although exports to the country went down to just RM1.4 billion for the first nine months.

“This is a decline of 17% compared to the export value of RM1.7 billion in the same period last year,” he said in his winding-up speech at the state assembly today.

Awang Tengah, who is also the state’s second minister of urban development and natural resources, said the state government has allowed the primary processing industry to operate during the movement control order (MCO) to help the industry.

He said state government is committed to development while ensuring environmental sustainability.

“Currently, forest cover in Sarawak is about 63%, which is the highest in the country. The state has gazetted 46 national parks, 15 nature reserves and five wildlife sanctuaries covering an area of 2.1 million hectares.”

He said the state has also designated one million hectares of forest land as totally protected areas, where no logging activities are allowed.

It has also launched the Sarawak Aerial Detection Unit under the Forestry Department early this month to curb illegal logging activities throughout the state.