Kota Kinabalu: About 30 per cent of plantation logs produced in Sabah last year were exported, with demand constantly increasing.

Most of the timber was exported to Indonesia, China, Vitnam, Japan and the Philippines, while the rest was processed in the State.

Sabah Forestry Department director Sam Mannan said demand for plantation timber was on the rise as manufacturers have the technology to create value-added products using a mixture of imported and local material.

"Sabah is the main player in Malaysia when it comes to forest plantations and continues to issue land titles for the purpose. Malaysia's first commercial forest plantation was established in Sabah more than 30 years ago.

"The project on 61,000ha commenced in 1974 and was implemented by Sabah Softwoods Sdn Bhd, a joint venture company owned by Yayasan Sabah and North Borneo Timbers Berhad, at a logged over forest in Brumas, Tawau," he said.

Until last year, a total of 202,494ha of forest plantations were established in Sabah. The first production of planted timber for commercial use was in 1982 with a volume of 22,996.60 cubic metres.

Mannan said production had grown over the years, the highest being 672,037.36 cubic metres last year.

"This consistent increase is attributed to the entry of several other players in commercial tree plantation, such as Sabah Forest Development Authority (Safoda), Sabah Forest Industries and Sy Lak Sdn Bhd," He said.

He said in the long term, Sabah has set a target of establishing half a million hectares in forest plantations which can sustain 25,000 to 30,000ha of harvest a year, translating into five to six million cubic metres of timber.

When unveiling the Budget 2006, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said reforestation was essential to ensure sustainability of the nation's forest resources.

He announced that the Government will establish a new company with an initial funding of RM200 million to develop forest plantations commercially.

He said exotics such as Acacia mangium and paraserianthes falcataria accounted for 95 per cent of total planted timber last year, adding that choice of species is related to the end-use objective, which includes a ready market.

He said in Sabah Softwood's case, Acacia mangium which has suitable fibres and a short gestation period, was initially planted for pulpwood and woodchip.