rubber utilization

8/3/2019 Rubber Utilization

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4. RUBBERWOOD UTILIZATION

Before rubberwood found a use in timber and timber products, felled trees were almost exclusively used asfuelwood and charcoal in many countries. A significant share of rubberwood production is still used forthese purposes - almost 20 percent during the early 1990s in Malaysia (seeFigure 8). Rubberwood charcoalwas used extensively in the steel industry, rubber processing, tobacco curing and brick manufacturing.

Figure 8 Flow of rubberwood logs and primary products in Malaysia in 1992

All figures are in 000 m3. Source: Kollert & Zana, 1994; source of figures: Malaysia Timber Industry

Board (1993) and calculations by Kollert & Zana.

Since the 1980's, however, rubberwood has gradually established itself as a major wood product in several

countries, particularly for the production of furniture, furniture components and wood panels. Rubberwoodplywood is used for both construction and decorative end uses. More recently, medium density fibreboard(MDF), particleboard and oriented strand board (OSB) have also joined the list of products derived fromrubberwood and sawmill waste.

Figure 8illustrates the flow of rubberwood logs and primary products in Malaysia in 1992 (Kollert & Zana,1994). It illustrates that of the total log supply, sawmills took up almost 60 percent of the volume, followedby 40 percent consumed in the market for small diameter logs. The authors add a word of cautionconcerning the high recovery rate (47 percent) in the production of sawnwood from sawlogs. In an earlierstudy, Sim (1989) had found recovery rates ranging from 21 to 32 percent.

In a 1987 study on rubberwood utilization in Thailand, the authors found that 40.04 percent of totalrubberwood utilization was for wood products (furniture and furniture parts, cable reels, pallets, woodenboxes, picture frames, tooth picks, ice cream sticks, household utensils, wooden toys and somemiscellaneous products); 30.43 percent for fuelwood; 16.68 percent for particle board; 11.02 percent forcharcoal; and 1.83 percent for poles and piles (mostly for construction purposes).
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4.1 Industrial processing of rubberwood

4.1.1 Primary industrial processing

Rubberwood logs are mostly used in the sawmilling sector. Out of a total of 4.6 million m3 sawlogsproduced in 1991, sawmills took around 80% of total log production (3.5 million m3) and the wood basedpanel industry took the remainder. However, use in the wood based panel sector is rapidly expanding,although chipboard, cement board, MDF and OSB rely primarily on small diameter logs. Some statisticsshowing are given inTable 18that show the scale of rubberwood sawnwood exports from Malaysia.

Table 18 Malaysian export of rubberwood sawnwood to major countries*

Country of

Destination

1984 1991 1992 1993 1994

Volume

(m3)

Value

(RMmillion)

Volume

(m3)

Value

(RMmillion)

Volume

(m3)

Value

(RMmillion)

Volume

(m3)

Value

(RMmillion)

Volume

(m3)

Value

(RMmillion)

Taiwan 19,735 6.0 45,463 29.4 20,332 11.8 17,735 11.4 32,059 24.7Japan 13,137 4.0 7,689 5.9 6,936 5.1 4,552 3.5 3,667 3.6

USA 167 0.1 226 0.2 606 0.4 1,533 1.2 1,305 1.3

Belgium - - 619 0.5 405 0.3 1,128 0.9 463 0.4

Singapore 61,994 18.8 14,904 5.5 9,284 4.6 1,195 0.8 2,381 1.5

Netherlands 239 0.1 0 0.0 461 0.4 128 0.1 442 0.4

China 254 0.1 0 0.0 - - 35 ** - -

S. Korea 98 ** 1,542 0.6 161 0.1 - - - -

Others 140 ** 818 0.6 648 0.4 1,314 0.8 4,980 4.0Total 95,764 29.1 71,261 42.7 38,833 23.1 27,620 18.7 45,297 35.9

* In order to encourage downstream processing, an export quota was introduced in 1990 and the export ofsawnwood was completely banned in January 1994; the year before the introduction of the export

restrictions in 1990, the export volume was 221,367 m3

(anonymous quoted in Kollert & Zana, 1994)

** Less than 0.1 million m3

Source: Malaysian Rubber Board.

When logs are delivered to the sawmill, long transport distances have to be avoided because of the highpossibility of insect and fungal attacks. For this reason, Indufor in 1993 estimated that only 80 percent oftotal rubberwood are economically available in Thailand in Malaysia, 45 percent in Indonesia and 90 percentin India and Sri Lanka, the latter due to the general scarcity of wood raw material, well-functioningsmallholder organizations and effective replanting systems.

Sawing and chemical treatment is often carried out immediately after harvesting. A typical rubberwoodsawmill is small, with a sawnwood recovery rate of 15-35 percent; it is estimated that the average recoveryrate is around 25 percent. In general these low recovery rates are the result of the use of inappropriatetechnology to process small dimension logs such as those produced by the rubber tree. Portable sawmills are

common, especially in Malaysia, but are less common in Thailand where their use is restricted to deterillegal harvesting. Rubberwood mills are labor intensive and logs are often loaded manually and fed throughsaws by hand. Sawmills integrated with drying facilities are more capital intensive and produce most of thesawnwood used for export or by the mills producing export products such as furniture, parquet flooring andother wooden articles.
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In the wood based panel industry, rubberwood plywood has proved to be a potential high value end use,provided that appropriate technology is used. The rubber tree is also extremely well suited as a raw materialfor the production of particleboard and MDF. In 1998, the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia successfullycarried out laboratory scale trials to produce Heveawood OSB.1Strands were sliced from small diameterrubberwood logs and bonded together under heat and pressure using phenol formaldehyde and isocyanate asexterior grade adhesives. The amount of adhesives was found to be about half of what is necessary forparticleboard.

Rubberwood in the form of small logs, off-cuts, edges, slabs and branches is used for particleboardmanufacture. Some particleboards are laminated with overlays of a wide range of colors and patterns. Thisproduct is sought after by the furniture manufacturers for making wardrobes, cabinets, tables, chairs,partitions and kitchen cabinets. The properties of a series of particleboard samples from rubberwood aregiven inTable 19. The results indicate that particleboards of 19 mm thickness using 8 percent resin and 1percent wax possess properties exceeding the specifications of the British Standard (Yusoff, 1994).

Table 19 Properties of single-layer particleboards made from rubberwood flakes

Sample Density

(kg/m3)

MOR

(MPa)

Internal bond

(MPa)

Screw withdrawal

(N)

Thickness swelling

(%)A 552 14.2 0.38 853 6.0

B 626 19.8 0.65 960 4.8

C 682 25.8 0.68 1303 3.3

BS Type1

- 13.8 0.34 360 12.0

(min.) (min.) (min.) (max.)

Note:MOR: modulus of rupture or bending strength; pressing temperature: 140C; pressing time: 10

minutes.

Source: Wong & Ong, 1979.

Since rubberwood is readily attacked by fungi and insects, wood chips are easily discolored during storage.The manufacture of MDF with urea formaldehyde resin requires that chips be used within four weeks,preferably fresh, in order to maintain the expected strength properties of MDF (Razali & Diong, 1992).Boards made from fresh chips and urea formaldehyde have been found to attain the minimum bendingstrength (MOR) requirement of JIS A-5906-1983 type 200. However, the internal bond in MDF tests wasexceptionally high at about 16 kg/cm2.

The color of the boards varied from yellowish-cream to dark gray depending on the age of the raw material.MDF of acceptable quality could be made from rubberwood that has been stored up to three months withdifferent treatments of fungicide and insecticide (Khoo et al., 1991). Past concerns about the rubber tree'slatex content, which is an undesirable substance when producing MDF board, have been alleviated with thefine-tuning of processing technology that allows the separation of latex clumps from wood fibers beforepressing. The results of some tests on rubberwood MDF are given inTable 20.

Table 20 Properties of rubberwood MDF

Cook

number

Density

(g/cm3

)

MOR

(kg/cm2

)

MOE x 1000

(kg /cm2

)

IB (kg/cm2

)

TS (%)

1 0.513 88 9.6 4.1 13.2

0.602 148 17.1 5.7 14.7

0.703 216 20.7 10.9 14.3
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2 0.501 95 9.4 5.1 10.5

0.608 189 17.6 5.8 10.9

0.707 276 23.2 10.2 11.1

3 0.506 103 10.7 5.1 9.3

0.598 180 17.7 6.6 10.4

0.710 274 24.8 11.2 10.3

JIS A-5906-1983

150-type

0.4-0.8 150 - 3.0 12.0 (max.)

200-type

200 - 4.0 "

Note: MOR = modulus of rupture, MOE = modulus of elasticity, IB= internal bond, TS = thickness swelling

after 24 h water soak. Source: Tomimura et al (1990).

The particleboard industry in Southeast Asia, which comprised 16 mills in 1995, uses off-cuts, trimmings,slabs and small logs of rubberwood and therefore provides an outlet for the less marketable part of the tree.Rubberwood particleboard is usually overlaid with a laminate and is used extensively by the furnitureindustry.

The number of MDF plants using rubberwood has increased rapidly since 1992 (seeTable 21). MDF plantsin Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia consumed some 0.7 million m3 of rubberwood logs in 1994, but it isexpected that this demand will rise to 1.5 million m3 in 1997. This rapid increase in demand may result ingreater competition for rubberwood trees and upward pressure on prices. Some statistics for rubberwoodprocessing in China are given inTable 22.

Table 21 Existing and projected capacity of MDF plants in 1996

Country Current Projected until 1997

Numberof mills

Volume of woodfibre used (m3)

Numberof mills

Volume of woodfibre used (m3)

Thailand

All MDF mills 6 531,200 9 1,261,600

Rubberwood MDF

mills

1 83,000 3 538,000

Malaysia

All MDF mills* 5 597,600 6 913,000

Rubberwood MDFmills

5 597,600 2 182,600

Indonesia

All MDF mills 1 162,000 7 1,131,000

Rubberwood MDFmills

0 0 1 185,000

* As of 1999, Malaysia had added a seventh MDF plant. Source: M.M.F.

Table 22 Secondary rubberwood processing and utilization in China in 1994
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Item Hainan Yunnan Guangdong

Logproduction(m3)

180,000 20,000-30,000 /

Sawnwoodproduction(m3)

62,185 7,000 /

No. ofsawnwoodplants

15 3 /

Plywoodproduction(m3)

23,151 5,000 3,000

No. ofplywoodplants

10 1 1

Particleboardproduction(m3)

28,000 0 0

No. ofparticleboardplants

1 0 0

No. ofmodel

productplants

1 0 1

Source: ITTO (1995).

4.1.2 Secondary industrial processing

Rubberwood's good working qualities for machining, acceptable durability, light natural color andadaptability in accepting paints and other finishes, makes it an ideal wood for furniture. The advantages ofrubberwood in furniture making are believed to compensate for the recognized problems of variations incolor and density but the need remains for preservation and drying treatment in order to avoid problems of

discoloration or bowing and twisting of the wood when the moisture content of the wood rises above 10-12percent.

The rubberwood processing industry of Malaysia is recognized to be a world leader because of the strengthof its secondary-processing sector. Rubberwood in Malaysia is the main wood used by the furnitureindustry. It is estimated that exports of rubberwood furniture from Peninsular Malaysia accounted for 70percent of all wooden furniture exported in 1994. Malaysia's exports of wooden and rattan furniture haveincreased from RM45.6 million in 1986 to RM2.61 billion in 1997 and RM4.36 billion in 1998 (Bani,1999). (SeeFigure 9for more details of Malaysia's furniture exports over the period 1988 to 1995).

Figure 9 Malaysian exports of furniture in 1988-1995
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Source: Malaysian Furniture Industry Council

The percentage of rubberwood entering secondary processing has also been rising in Thailand, where some200 out of a total of 1,400 furniture manufacturers using rubberwood as a raw material. The quality ofrubberwood furniture is high enough to be accepted in world markets and compares favorably withrubberwood furniture produced in Malaysia.

Thai Rubberwood furniture accounts for 60 percent of total production of wooden furniture. In 1999,production of rubberwood furniture for 2000-01 was predicted to increase as a result of more liquidity anddemand from foreign markets. A short-term problem was low supply of rubberwood because wood traderschose to export processed wood to China and Taiwan, where they could fetch higher prices. However,production capacity utilization was expected to increase to over 50 percent, because the local wood supplycould last at least 10 years if the resource is managed efficiently. Domestic market value for 1997-99decreased 30-40 percent to Baht 4-5 billion (Bangkok Bank, 1999). Approximately 70 percent ofrubberwood furniture is exported to foreign countries (mainly Japan and U.S.A., accounting for 80 percentof the total) and in the form of knockdown furniture. Exports during 1997-99 were Baht 10 billion.

Other minor producers of rubberwood furniture are India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The state of

development of the furniture industry in India is still behind that of Malaysia and Thailand and production ismainly geared toward the domestic market. It is estimated that only 5 to 8 percent of rubberwood is utilizedin downstream processing in India. In Indonesia, despite the large area of rubber plantations, the use ofrubberwood in furniture is still limited to some 20 plants. The level of quality in the industry is alsoconsidered to be lower than in the main producing countries. The rubberwood processing industry in SriLanka is probably the oldest of all the countries. However, this industry has not developed significantlyeither in volume production or in the level of technology used in processing plants.

4.1.3 4.1.3. Other uses

Some tests have been carried out to evaluate the potential of rubberwood for pulping. These tests have

shown that rubberwood could be used for the production of semi-chemical pulp. One Malaysian company isexporting rubberwood chips to Japan for the production of corrugated paper medium. However, apart fromthis small amount of trade, there is no other recorded use of rubberwood for pulping.


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Good quality rubberwood charcoal and briquettes can be produced from rubberwood waste. Rubberwoodcharcoal has been commercially produced in Malaysia for many years. In addition to fixed charcoal kilns,transportable metal kilns have been introduced in the last decade which produce a quality of charcoal that iscomparable to the quality produced by fixed kilns. Another market for rubberwood is fuelwood andcharcoal.

Unprocessed rubberwood is also sold in local markets for household use.

4.2 Rubberwood cost and prices

As already noted, the physical characteristics of rubberwood enable it to be used extensively in themanufacture of chairs, stools, benches, tables and bed legs. It is also suitable for flooring and tableware. Thegreatest potential for substitution lies in the replacement of Asian timber species, such as Lauan, Meranti,Nyatoh, mixed light hardwoods and especially Ramin. Its potential to substitute for temperate species ismore limited. Rubberwood has the potential to compete with beech, which is used for chairs and table legs.Because the light color of rubberwood allows it to be stained, it has begun to make inroads in traditionaldomains, including oak and cherry in cheap furniture ranges in the United States of America and Japan.However, a major factor which will influence the extent to which rubberwood utilization becomes a success

will be the price of the raw material itself.

4.2.1 Stumpage prices

Little information on rubberwood stumpage prices can be found. The latest data available were collected byITC in the third quarter of 1992 and are shown inTable 23.

Table 23 Rubberwood stumpage prices in selected countries in the third quarter of 1992

Country US$ per ha US$ per m

All wood LogsAverage Range Average Range Average Range

China 2,267 13 27

India 400 8

Indonesia 299 50- 400 8

Malaysia 459 0-1,200 9 0-34

Sri Lanka 1,417 675-1,710 20 12-30

Thailand 2,312 770-7,600 13 4-40 34

Vietnam 1,593 9

Source : ITC (1993).

AsTable 23shows, there was a very wide range of stumpage prices, which is likely to still exist. Thehighest prices were found in the Thai Province of Chantaburi where there is extensive rubberwoodutilization. By contrast, the price in Southern Thailand, where there is much less rubberwood utilization, waslowest (US$770/ha).

The situation in Malaysia was similar. The highest prices were paid in Peninsular Malaysia (US$1,200/ha orUS$34/m3), where most wood industries are located. In regions where rubberwood supply was decreasing(e.g. Peninsular Malaysia), stumpage prices were also reported to have been rising. In other parts ofMalaysia, where rubberwood had not yet been commercialized on large scales, stumpage rates were still lowor even negative (i.e. plantation owners have to pay for felling and clearing). Stumpage prices were low inIndia (US$400/ha or US$8/m3) and in Indonesia, which has the largest plantation area but a low utilization
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rate. The other main reason for these differences in stumpage prices is that some of those countries still havelarge supplies of other types of timber.

Various reasons explain the price differences. In Thailand. rubberwood prices at the farm gate vary fromplantation to plantation depending on the following factors (Paechana and Sinthurahat, 1997):

1. Number of stands per unit area - Higher rubber tree numbers/unit area yield higher wood totals.Rubber stands are usually 375 - 400 trees per ha, in line with past recommendations, but have beenfound as high as 800 for LTCs.

2. Age and size of rubber trees - The size of rubber trees depends not only on age but also on clone,soil and climatic conditions. Larger-sized trees achieve higher prices.

3. Location of the plantation - Due to rubberwood's susceptibility to mould and weevil infection,timber from rubber plantations close to factories and/or transportation routes gains higher prices thanwood from more remote areas.

4. Seasonal price variation - Rubberwood supply is insufficient in the rainy season due to

transportation difficulties and prices therefore higher than in the dry season.

5. Middleman activities - Many farmers ignore the rubberwood price since they receive fundingfrom ORRAF. When middlemen propose even a low price it is accepted without hesitation because itused to cost money for old rubberwood clearance in the past. Some middlemen use small trucks andlocal routes to travel from plantation to plantation, looking for fallen and leaning rubber trees thatobstruct tapper work. They bid for such timber at a low price or even for free and subsequently fellthem using chainsaws.

Rubberwood logs in Malaysia have been valued cheaply compared to logs from natural forests. It has beenargued that while plantation owners do not obtain prices for the logs that are equivalent to the value of the

raw material, sawmillers are able to achieve high profits (Kollert, 1994). The sales price of sawnwood isclose to that of light hardwood species from natural forests. Rubberwood logs would have to cost aroundRM 120 per m3 (ex-sawmill) to reduce the sawmillers' profit to a level that is comparable to sawnwoodproduction with light red Meranti. During the early 1990s, this log price was almost three times theprevailing market price.

The low market price of rubberwood logs in Malaysia - and elsewhere - may be explained by the specificcircumstances under which rubberwood is produced, namely as a by-product in agricultural plantations. Thebusiness objective of a plantation owner is not to supply logs for the timber market, but to replace old rubbertrees at the end of the crop rotation. This in turn produced a market failure whereby high demand of woodprocessing industries does not translate into high raw material prices. As long as rubber farmers continue

their operations a continuous supply of undervalued rubberwood logs from obsolete plantations is ensured.

What is clear is that the 60-fold increase in Malaysia's rubberwood log production between the mid-1980sand mid-1990s was mainly due to the successful efforts of estates to fully utilize rubberwood. The poorquality of logs from smallholdings and the remoteness of their location limit the chances of smallholders tofind buyers for their timber. On the other hand they also appear to be reluctant to sell their timber for thegiven low prices. Both conditions render the access of rubberwood to the timber market difficult (Kollert,1994).

Given these dynamics of rubberwood production, it is difficult to foresee sharp price increases. Localvariations may occur, due to climate-induced gluts or shortages, the refusal of farmers or estate managers toreplant trees at prevailing rubber prices or if rubber tree plantations come to be managed for wood, ratherthan latex, as was suggested in parts of Thailand and may be the case in areas of Peninsular Malaysia. Someincreases may also occur where established processing capacities that use both rubberwood and otherspecies have to cope with the increased shortage of the latter or where the vicinity of newly established


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processing centers sharply increases demand beyond what rubber growers are able to supply. Where rawrubberwood prices increase sufficiently, some smallholder resources may enter the market.

4.2.2 Log and sawnwood prices

Rubberwood log and sawnwood prices are given inTable 24andTable 25.Table 24indicates the price ofrubberwood logs and sawnwood (for domestic and export markets) in Peninsular Malaysia in the month ofMay 1992. Similar data for November 1996 is given inTable 25(unfortunately data for other countries arenot available, so it is difficult to ascertain whether the changes indicated in these tables have also taken placein Thailand and Indonesia).

Table 24 Comparative prices of logs and sawnwood in May 1992

Species Logs Sawnwood

(US$/m3) Domestic

(green)

(US$/m3)

Export (export graded

and kiln dried)

(US$/m3)

Rubberwood 15.9 89.0 220

Nyatoh 125.9 260.0 358

Ramin n.a. n.a. 389

Jelutong 118.8 245.0 406

Light RedMeranti

150.0 277.7 406

Dark Red

Meranti

152.6 322.2 482

Source : ITC.

Table 25 Comparative prices of logs and sawnwood in November 1996

Species Logs

(US$/m3)

Sawnwood

(US$/m3)

Rubberwood 32-34 280-290

Meranti 260-265 350-360

Merbau 200-205 n.a.

Kempas 150-155 230-245

Keruing 190-195 n.a.

Source : ITTO.

These two tables demonstrate that rubberwood is a low priced raw material in log form but its pricedifferential narrows when processed. They also show several interesting aspects of recent rubberwood price

developments, including:

low rubberwood log prices reflect the low recovery rate of sawnwood;

higher prices achieved when sawnwood is graded and kiln dried for export;
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a sharp increase over four years of rubberwood log prices (+107 percent) and sawnwood (+220percent); and

an increasing divergence between rubberwood log prices and sawnwood prices (450 percent in1992 but 760 percent in 1996).

The historical increase in the demand for rubberwood in Malaysia and this sharp increase in price suggestthat any future increase in demand might result in increased prices for rubberwood in the future. However, afurther escalation of rubberwood prices could pose serious problems to the further development of therubberwood furniture industry which, at present, is only competing in the low and medium end of thefurniture market.

In Thailand, the rubberwood price at the factory is not much different between factories whilst the year-round prices are more or less the same. The following prices could be obtained from each factory (Paechana& Sinthurahat, 1997):

Timber with a diameter of more than 20 cm is used primarily in the veneer industry. The timbermust be taken to the factory immediately after being felled and fetched US$50 per ton.

Timber with a diameter of 15-20 cm is used mainly for sawnwood. It has to be sent to the factorywithin one week of felling. The price is US$32 per ton.

Timber with a diameter less than 15 cm is used for particle board. It should be sent to the factorywithin 3 weeks. This kind of timber is bought at US$10-15 per ton. The price is more or less thesame as for fuelwood.

Table 26indicates the relative price of rubberwood sawnwood in the highly competitive market of TaiwanProvince of China.

Table 26 Prices of Sawnwood in Taiwan province of China in October 1996

Product Price (US$/m3)

Rubberwood 25mm. boards

365-370

Rubberwood 50-75mm. squares

415-420

Rubberwood 75-100 mm. squares

440-450

Sepetir GMS ( AD) 360-370

Ramin 545-565

Oak 25 mm. boards 580-585

Maple 835-850

Cherry 1150-1200

Source: ITTO.

Rubberwood sold in this market probably comes from Thailand. In this table it appears that the price forrubberwood sawnwood (50-75 mm) is some 15 percent above Sepetir (another popular furniture specieswhich can be substituted by rubberwood). However, it is notable that the price of rubberwood is 25 percentless than the price of Ramin, the species that has been identified as closest to rubberwood in terms ofproperties.
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In most studies previously conducted, it appeared that many users utilized rubberwood because of its lowerprice. It appeared also that relative price increases would affect consumption but it was not clear to whatlevel rubberwood prices must rise before consumers switch to other woods. The effect of price elasticity israther dependent upon where on the demand curve rubberwood is currently perceived and the extent towhich suitable alternative species and materials are available. Rubberwood is particularly successful in thelow-to-middle priced wooden furniture sector, such as used in tables and shelving systems. Such low pricescan only be maintained with a low-to-medium cost raw material. If rubberwood prices enter a medium-to-high range, the marketing advantage of being a species from a renewable resource may not be sufficient. It isthe additional processing, wastage and need to stain/finish, which determines the need for a price differentialfor rubberwood.

One further development, which would suggest an upward trend in rubberwood prices, is the developmentof new mills.Table 21indicated that six new MDF mills based on rubberwood should start operation by theend of 1997. It is not known where these new mills will be located in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippinesbut it is expected that they will be located in areas where industrial processing is already advanced. Theproblems of transporting rubberwood over long distances limits the possibility of utilizing the resource froma less industrialized area with lower prices.

4.3 Current consumption in producing countries

4.3.1 Consumption by the primary processing industries

As indicated previously, consumption of rubberwood was estimated to be around 4.6 million m3 in 1991, outof which 3.5 m3 was used by the sawmilling industry and some 1.1 million m 3 by the wood-based panelindustry. Thailand and Malaysia together accounted for 65 percent of total log production and these twocountries have developed the most extensive export industries based on rubberwood. Assuming growth ofrubberwood processing by 8 percent/year for Thailand and Malaysia and no growth for the other countriesusing rubberwood, it can be estimated that around 6.0 million m3 of rubberwood logs might have beenproduced/consumed in 1996. This total accounts for some 5 percent of production of non-coniferous

sawlogs, but this percentage varies markedly among countries. For example, it is low in timber richcountries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, or in large countries, such as China and India, but high in otherssuch as Thailand and Sri Lanka.

4.3.2 Consumption by the secondary processing industries

Producing countrys' secondary processing industries using rubberwood cover a large spectrum from palletmanufacturing to the most advanced export-oriented furniture and joinery manufacturers in Malaysia andThailand. There are no recorded statistics on the amount of rubberwood logs used by the furniture industryor on the production of rubberwood furniture in the main rubberwood producing countries. However, it isestimated that in 1992 some 85 percent of rubberwood sawnwood produced in Malaysia was processed

further into furniture. A tentative estimate, based on previous studies, indicates a figure of 1.6 million m3 ofrubberwood logs were used for sawnwood production in Malaysia in 1995. Assuming a 33 percent averagesawnwood yield, this would give 520,000 m3 of rubberwood sawnwood production (6 percent of totalsawnwood production in Malaysia) and, using a yield of 50 percent for sawnwood to finished products,some 220,000 m3 of secondary products production from rubberwood.

4.4 Current world demand for rubberwood

Since the 1993 in-depth study carried out under the auspices of the International Trade Centre, no equivalentwork has been done. The estimated world consumption of rubberwood in 1991 amounted to 238,000 m3

(product volume).Table 27shows the importance of the main import markets and the sawnwood equivalentof rubberwood product consumption for these markets. The same study indicated rubberwood consumptionby main importing markets and product type (Table 28).

Table 27 Consumption of rubberwood in 1991
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Importer Actual Sawnwood equivalent

(`000 m3) (percent) (`000 m3) (percent)

UnitedStates ofAmerica

92.4 39 184.6 41

Japan 75.0 31 135.4 30

Europe 30.2 13 59.2 13

TaiwanProvince ofChina

27.4 11 46.3 10

Republic ofKorea

9.2 4 16.9 4

Singapore 3.8 2 5.4 1

Total 238.0 100 447.8 100

Note: product volumes were converted to sawnwood equivalents assuming a 50% recovery rate. Source :ITC (1993).

Table 28 Use of rubberwood by country and product type in 1991

Country orregion

Lumber

(`000 m3)

Furniture

finished

(`000 m3)

Furniture

parts

(`000 m3)

Builders'

woodwork

(`000 m3)

Other

(`000 m3)

Total

(`000 m3)

United States ofAmerica

0.2 65.0 12.0 2.3 12.9 92.4

Japan 14.6 31.5 21.9 2.0 5.0 75.0

Europe 1.4 16.4 n.a. 8.0 4.4 30.2

TaiwanProvince ofChina

8.5 16.0 0.9


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Table 29 Estimated rubberwood consumption in 1991 and 1996

Product Consumption

in 1991

(000 m3)

1996 Change

1991 - 1996

(% per annum)

Actual

(000 m3)

Sawnwood equivalent

(000 m3)

Lumber 28.5 28.5 28.5 n.a.

Furniture 130.2 253.5 507.0 8.3

(Furniture parts) 39.3

Builders' woodwork 14.2 28.9 57.8 15.2

Other wooden items 25.8 38.5 71.0 8.3

Total 238.0 349.4 674.3 8.0

Source : ITC (1993).

1 Since its development and rapid expansion, OSB in general has threatened to replace the more traditional plywood in manyapplications including uses where structural strength is required. While it can be produced with strength properties comparable toplywood, OSB is significantly cheaper to produce as small diameter and low quality logs can be used. Until 1998, OSB was

largely a North-American phenomenon, with production reaching almost 12 million m3. OSB has also spread to Europe and isgaining popularity in Japan, but as of 1998 remained to be introduced to Southeast Asia. Mills in Indonesia were at the planningstage and some OSB imports for packaging was reported.

rubber utilization

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