Sabah furniture manufacturers seek relief from high costs
Jun 09, 2010. Furniture exporters from Sabah in East Malaysia complain that their market position is at risk due to high production costs, increasing ocean freight charges, unreliable power supply and tight raw material supplies.
Jun 09, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. Furniture exporters from Sabah in East Malaysia complain that their market position is at risk due to high production costs, increasing ocean freight charges, unreliable power supply and tight raw material supplies, ITTO reported.
The reason for the complaint is that the fee for a furniture export license is RM5,000 ($1,508) in Sabah, compared to only RM200 ($60.3) in West Malaysia. The EU market, which accounted for some 90% of Sabah’s furniture exports has weaken and as a result, Sabah's position as the nation's leading outdoor furniture exporter is at risk.
Furniture manufacturers from Sabah are also seeking aid from the federal government to compensate for production losses caused by power blackouts.