FOREST PLANTATION PROGRAMME TO MEET COUNTRY'S TIMBER INDUSTRY NEEDS

KOTA BAHARU (Kelantan, Malaysia), May 27 (Bernama) - The Plantation
Industries and Commodities Ministry has introduced a Forest Plantation
Development Programme to meet the country's timber industry needs.

Deputy Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said the pilot programme for rubber smallholders starting this year involves &8203;&8203;213.98ha with financing loans of RM2.14mil (US$705,456).

"The programme is for smallholders with 4-40 hectares of land for timber plantation," he told reporters after the loan signing ceremony and presenting certificates to participants of a Rubber Forest Plantation Development Workshop here Thursday.

It involves six companies - AAGeomatics Sdn Bhd, Oriental Purity Sdn Bhd; Steady Plantation Ltd, Ping Ping Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Oriental Fast Logging Sdn Bhd and Energy Forever Sdn Bhd.

Hamzah said three other companies agreed to provide nurseries for rubber tree species called 'Latex Timber Clones' (LTC), a timber source.
--BERNAMA