Rubber Plantations as a Timber Resource

摘要

The Malaysian rubber plantation sector is currently regarded as the most important source of heveawood (rubberwood) for the wood-based industry. Annually around 2 million cu m of heveawood logs are extracted producing 500 000 cu m sawntimber, variousfurniture and furniture components. The export value of heveawood products in 1994 alone was worth more than RM1.1 billion. However, the future supply of this wood is uncertain due mainly to the decline in the rubber area both in smallholdings and estates. Measures are in hand to ensure a sustainable supply by intensifying research and development towards high heveawood productivity. Significant progress has been made in identifying rubber genotypes for high wood production. Meanwhile efforts have beeninitiated to establish rubber forest plantations as alternative source of heveawood. This paper highlights the present as well as the future supply and demand of heveawood. The potential genotypes and the establishment systems for high heveawood productivity are also presented in this paper.