Jan 16, 2009. /Lesprom.com/. Prices of Malaysian wood products have declined sharply as the global economic slowdown began to deeply impact the industry, informed Lesprom Network according to the ITTO. The price decline was the steepest since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Timber merchants and wood products manufacturers alike were rushing to reduce inventory by offering bulk discounts to buyers. Some timber merchants lamented that many of them had not received any new orders from buyers beyond January 2009. Both manufacturers and sawmillers were facing the grim prospect of scaling down businesses in the near future. Between 30% to 50% of small and medium-sized businesses may be forced to shut down by end March 2009. There was a fear that up to 70% of workers in the timber industry may be laid off before end 2009.