May 23, 2013. /Lesprom Network/. The Sabah Timber Industries Association (STIA) has appointed Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) as its technical partner for the development of added value products from local plantations of Acacia mangium, as ITTO reported.

This collaboration was made possible by a government Community Innovation Fund grant of RM 500,000 (approximately $167,000). Acacia mangium plantations were first established in Sabah in the 1980s. At present the main markets are for logs to Vietnam and China and chips to Japan.

One of the objectives of the STIA cooperation with FRIM is to develop truck flooring boards from Acacia mangium for the export market.