Malaysian consumers' preference and willingness to pay for environmentally certified wooden household furniture

Demand for certified timber products (CTPs) is on the rise, with major markets currently in North America and Europe, where consumers are willing to pay price premiums for these wood products. It is reported that there is little or no local demand for CTPs in the developing producer countries as consumers are said to have little interest in the products and cannot afford to be environmentally ethical in their consumption. A survey was conducted in Kuala Lumpur to determine whether consumers in Malaysia, which is a tropical CTPs producing and exporting country, have a preference and willing to pay price premiums for environmentally certified wooden household furniture (ECWHF). The willingness to pay (WTP) was estimated with the contingent valuation method using the Turnbull lower-bound estimator. The results indicated that a majority (74%) of the respondents showed a preference for ECWHF when priced at similar bid level with its identical non-certified products. However, a much lower percentage of these respondents were found to be willing to pay a price premium for the products. Of the 994 respondents surveyed, only 40.7% indicated a positive WTP. On average, the respondents were willing to pay about 18% more for ECWHF over its identical non-certified competitor. CTPs may be appropriate for specific niche markets which should be identified by marketers of these wood products

Willingness to pay a price premium for certified wood products among consumers in Malaysia

Consumers are assumed to be willing to pay price premiums for certified wood products. In this study, Malaysian consumers’ willingness to pay a price premium for certified wood products and factors influencing their willingness to pay were investigated. The study made use of the data obtained from 994 systematically selected mall-intercepted respondents. A binomial logit analysis was applied to determine the factors influencing the respondents’ willingness to pay. About 74% of the respondents indicated that they would choose wood products made from certified timbers. However, only 57% stated that they were willing to pay a price premium for the products. The respondents’ willingness to pay was found to be influenced by their knowledge and perceived importance of forest certification, as well as the inclination to choose wood products made from certified timbers. There is also a positive correlation between the willingness to pay and the respondents’ education, income, and current ownership of the wooden furniture items. The opportunity for further research includes determining the amount of premium the consumers are willing to pay and identifying consumer segments where certified wood products can be successfully marketed

Forestry education in Malaysia: trends and challenges

The expansion of the forestry sector in Malaysia and the importance of forest for its biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services requires the development of human capital at both technical and professional levels. The relevance of forestry education in the country, its trends and challenges are herein discussed

Economic Valuation of Tree Species Diversity at Ayer Hitam Forest, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia

From a study conducted on a 1-ha plot at the Ayer Hitam Forest, Selangor, a total of 177 species in 92 genera and 44 families were enumerated. The stand density was 909 trees per ha. Stumpage values for below cutting limit were RM 8707.52 and RM 17514.12 per hafor upper cutting limit. The total stumpage value was RM 26221.64 per ha. The family Sapotaceae contributed the highest stumpage value accounting for half the total stumpage value obtained. The commercial groups nyatoh and kedondong accounted for 52% and 25% of the total stumpage value, respectively

Sampling Species Diversity in a Malaysian Rain Forest: The Case of a Logged-Over Forest

This study was carried out in a logged-over forest at Compartment 14, Ayer Hitam Forest, Puchong, on a randomly chosen 5-ha area (200mx250m). The 5-ha plot contained a total of 6621 trees (for trees greater than 5cm dbh) which belonged to 319 species in 148 genera and 51 families and that is 11% species, 28% genera and 51% families of the total tree taxa found in Peninsular Malaysia. Endemism and new records were high, 33 species and 30 species respectively. A minimum contiguous area of 5-ha plot is recommended to capture species diversity in a tropical logged-over forest. The implications of the findings are herein discussed within the context of sample plot size, species diversity and conservation of logged-over forest

Consumer Attitude Towards Tropical Hardwoods in the United Kingdom

A survey in United Kingdom on public attitude towards tropical timbers showed negative disposition towards tropical hardwoods and wood products. Those considering buying tropical wood products would do so if it was competitively priced, not treated with chemicals or manufactured from timber species known to them. Tropical wood products may not fare better in the future due to greater awareness of environment quality. The survey results revealed that males and those from higher incomes groups unlike the others were willing to purchase tropical hardwood, especially if it was from substainable forests

Tree species diversity and economic value of a watershed forest in Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, Kedah

Data on plant diversity are fundamental in the sustainable management of a forest. A study was conducted for a watershed forest, Ulu muda Forest Reserve, Kedah, with the objectives of determining tree species diversity and its economic value based on stumpage value. Results showed that there are 1072 trees with 92 species in 72 genera and 34 families in 1.2 hectare or 893 trees and 77 species per hectare. The most abundant species is Polyalthia rumphii while the largest families in terms of stem number are Annonaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Myrtaceae. About 3.25% of 2830 tree species in Peninsular Malaysia are found in this area. The stumpage value of tree species diversity of this forest is RM 41,445.30 per hectare. The stumpage value of trees below cutting limit is RM 1,863.98 per hectare while that ofupper cutting limit is RM 39,581.32 per hectare. Trees of diameter class >=60cm dbh contributed nearly 80% of the total stumpage value

The estimation of economic benefits of urban trees using contingent valuation method in Tasik Perdana, Kuala Lumpur

Urban trees provide a multitude of tangible and intangible services which include provisionary, regulatory, as well as cultural and support services to the community. Unfortunately, to set a monetary value on these said services is challenging to say the least. Ignorance of such monetary value is unintentional and this is mainly due to the lack of awareness and the absence of monetary value of the services itself. Hence, the quality of these urban trees degrades over time as no one appreciates its monetary value. In light of this situation, a study was initiated to determine the economic benefits of the urban trees that were planted surrounding Tasik Perdana (TP) area. For this purpose, a total of 313 respondents were interviewed in the TP area using the contingent valuation method (CVM). The objective of this study was to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) for these urban trees. WTP represents the willingness of a person to pay in monetary terms to secure and sustain these urban trees. Hence, seven bid prices were used and distributed to the respondents: RM1.00, RM5.00, RM10.00, RM15.00, RM20.00, RM25.00 and RM30.00. Logit and linear regression models were applied to predict the maximum, mean, and median WTP. The study concludes that the estimated mean WTP is RM10.32 per visit and the estimated median WTP is RM10.08 per visit

Estimating the economic value of natural bamboo stands : a case study in Pahang, Malaysia.

This paper presents results of a study on appraising the economic value of natural bamboo stands in Pahang, Malaysia. Data were gathered by interviewing active and registered bamboo collectors and manufacturers of bamboo products in the state, as well as some secondary information from the Fourth National Forestry Inventory. A rapid field inventory was also conducted to estimate the number of culms and potentially harvestable culms in a clump of bamboo. The economic value of the natural bamboo stands is estimated using the residual value approach. Gigantochloa scortechinii was harvested in Raub for making joss/incense sticks, while Dendrocalamus pendulus and Schizostachyum zollingeri were harvested in Rompin for the production of vegetable/fruit baskets. It is estimated that about 6.47 million harvestable culms of G. scortechinii would be available in the forests of Pahang with an economic value of about RM1.747 million. As for S. zollingeri (and others), the potentially harvestable culms amounted to about 3.84 million culms with an economic value of RM882,329 (end product is vegetable/fruit basket) or RM1.611 million (end product is bamboo sticks). Assuming only these three species are harvested and used, there would be at least RM2.629 million worth of bamboo resource in the natural forests in Pahang

Mapping issues in Malaysian wood-based industry using cognitive mapping approach.

Wood-based sector is one of the important sectors in the country earning a total of RM22.5 billion in 2008, making it the fifth largest industry contributing to export earnings. It is envisaged that the wood-based sector will grow to RM53 billion by 2020 (MTIB, 2009). In order to achieve the projected growth, the wood-based industry needs to map out its strategy and action plan. The objectives of this study were to identify the opportunities and obstacles present in the wood-based industry in Malaysia and to formulate recommended actions for the industry. A study was conducted where interviews and a workshop with stakeholders were held using the cognitive mapping approach where a network of concepts and issues were linked to form chains of argumentation. The concepts and issues were aggregated, linked and prioritized to form strategy statements. From the strategy statements, recommended actions were proposed. The recommended actions can be used to help chart future direction of the wood-based industry in Malaysia