The Sarawak Timber Association (STA) is projecting an increase of five to 10 per cent in the price of logs and timber products in the next six to nine months.

Its Chairman, Datuk Wong Kie Yik, said industry players were anticipating prices to increase after seeing a sharp drop in export in the first two months of this year.

He said the state's major timber products export decreased by 34.2 per cent to RM507,165,849 the first two months this year from exports worth RM770,593,333 in the same period of last year.

Volume wise, the decrease was by 35 per cent, from 900,375 metric tonnes to 585,397 metric tonnes.

The decrease in export of major timber products was due to bad weather which caused difficulties in logging operations and transporting the logs to the log landings, Wong told reporters before opening STA's annual general meeting at Wisma STA here Wednesday.

"The rainy season in Sarawak from end of last year to January this year, caused flooding, making it difficult and dangerous for logging operations beside the water level of rivers in the logging concession areas were at flood level and logs could not be rafted to the log landings.

"However, when it rained little in February, the water level was low to raft the logs from the ponds to the log landings," he said. Last year, Sarawak's major timber products export was valued at RM6,080 million compared with RM7,432 million in 2008. - Bernama