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UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
PLANNING THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF TIMBER IN SABAH, MALAYSIA
JOSEPH AHLAN
FH 1993 3
PLARRIMG THB PRODUCT 10M AMD COMSUKPTIOB OP TIMBER
1M SABAR, MALAYSIA
BY
JOSEPH AHLAII
Thesis Submitted in pulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the
Paculty of Porestry, universiti Pertanian Malays ia
April 1993
ACDIOWLBDGBKBftS
I acknowledge with sincere thanks and appreciation
the various forms of assistance , faci lities and
encouragement extended to me by different agencies and
individuals during the preparation of this thesis . In
particular , I wish to express my gratitude to the
following persons who in one way or another shared their
time and effort in assisting me in preparing this
thesis : -
The Director of Forestry Department , Sabah for
approving my study leave and the Chief Minister ' s
Department of Sabah , for the financial assistance during
the course of my stay in univers iti Pertanian Malaysia ;
Associate Professor Mohd . Zin Jusoh ,
chairman of my supervisory committee , for
valuable advice , suggestions and
throughout the period of this study ;
the present
his concern ,
encouragement
Associate Professor Dr . Yusuf Hadi the former
chairman and Dr . Mohd . Shahwahid Othman , a member of my
supervisory committee , for their valuable guidance ,
advice and sharing of their valuable time and expertise ;
Friends and Colleagues - Sining , Andurus , Singaram ,
Dominic , Kinus , Yahya , Pilis , Saad , and Caroline for
their assistance and friendly advice .
i
Lastly
Jerom for
providinq lie
but not least to my wife , Alice and my son ,
their sacrifices , underlying love , and for
with the inspiration .
Above all , to God , the source
everything I enj oy .
of l ife and
ii
TABLE 01' COIfTEIfTS
ACDOWLEDGBKDT8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LIST
LIST
01'
01'
TABLBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GLOSSARY
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAlt
CHAPTER
I
I'IGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IIfTRODUCT I 011
Problem statement
Obj ectives
Organisation of the Thesis
I I I'ORBST ARD I'ORESTRY IIIDUSTRIES III SABAK ..
General Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geology and Soils
water Sources • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • D • • •
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Population
Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Constitutional Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forest Area o • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
iii
Page
i
vi
viii
ix
xi
xiv
1
1
4
4
6
6
7
7
8
9
10
12
12
12
I I I
Classification of Forest by Vegetation Types • • . • • . . • • . • • . . • . . . . . • 16
Forest Management • . • • . • • • • • • • . . . . . • • • • . • 18
Forest Plantations • • • • • • • • • • • . • . . • • . • • • • 2 4
Production of Plantation Timber • . • • • • 2 6
Price of Plantation Timber • . . . • • . • • • • 2 7
Marketing and Usage o f Plantation Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9
Timber Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1
Past Trends in Log Production . . . . . • . . 3 1
Source of Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4
Log utilisation . • • • . • • • • • . . . . • • • . • . • • 3 6
Forest Industry . . . . • . . • • • • • . • • . • . • • . . . . . 3 8
Logging Operation and Transportation of Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9
Sawmil ling Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0
Plywood and Veneer Industry . . . . . . . . . . 4 3
Other Forest Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5
Importance o f the Forestry and Forest Industr ies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7
LI'l'BRA'l'URB RRVIBW • . . • • • • • • • • . . • • • • . . . . . • 5 1
Review o f Previous Analysis o f Log Production from the Forests of Sabah . • . • 5 1
Proj ection o f Future Log Production 52
Synthesis of the Various Proj ection 63
Review of Previous Estimation of Log Consumption by Wood-Based Industry . . . . . 69
iv
IV
V
VI
D'l'JIODOLOGY . . . . • • . . . . . • • . • . • . . • • . . . . . . • • 77
Proj ection of Log Production • • • • . • • • • . . . 7 7
Data . . • • • • . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . 7 7
Description o f Scenarios . • • • • • • • • . • . . 7 7
Method of Proj ection • • • • • • • • . • . . • • • • . 82
Estimating Future Domestic Log Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Model Specification . • • . . • • . • • . . . • • . . . 8 3
Domestic Consumption o f Forest Logs . . 8 3
Method o f Estimation 87
Method of Forecasting • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • 89
Data Collection . • • . • • • • • • • • . . . . . • • • . • 89
RBSULTS AND DISCUSSIO •••••••••••••••••••• 9 1
Proj ection of Log Production • • • • • . • • . • • . 9 1
Factors Affecting the Proj ection of LO<J Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Future Domestic Log Consumption • • • • . • • • • 104
Regression Results • • • . • • • . • • • • . . • • . • . 104
Estimation of the Future Domestic Log Consumption • • . . • • . • • • • • • • . . . • . . . • 107
Comparison between the Proj ected Log Production and Domestic Consumption • • . • • 1 1 1
Policy Implications • • • . • • • • • • . . • . • • • . • • . 113
SUIOIARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
LITBRATUR. CITBD ............................... . 122
APPBHDICBS 1 3 1
VITA . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • • . . • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • • . • . . . . . . . 153
v
LIST OJ' TABLBS
Table Paqe
1 Classification of Forest Reserves • • . • • • • • • 13
2 Classification of Forest by Vegetation Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 0
1 1
1 2
13
14
15
Revised Version of the Sequence of silvicultural Operations as of 1976 • • • • • • .
Potential Forest Plantation Species in Sabah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Extent of Forest Plantation • • • • • . . . . •
Export of Plantation Logs from Sabah
Log Production from Sabah , 1950-1990
Log Production from Forest Reserve and Other Forests . • . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . • . • •
utilization of Logs in Sabah ( ' 000 cu . m) .
The Development of Sawmil l Industry in Sabah since 19 70 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .
The Development of Plywood and Veneer Industry in Sabah • • • • . • • • • • . • • • • . • .
Forest Revenue , Expenditure and state Revenue for 1970 - 1990 (RM' 000 ) • • • • . • • • •
Export Values of Maj or Forest Products from Sabah (Million RM) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Previous Forecasts of Log Production Schedules (million cu . m) • . . • . • . • • • • . • • • •
Assumptions for the Various Scenarios
16 Proj ected Future Forests for Various Cutting Cycles and silviculture
19
25
27
2 8
3 2
3 5
3 7
4 2
4 4
4 8
5 0
54
58
Trea tment . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . 6 0
1 7 Assumptions about the Length of Cutting Cycles for the Commercial Forest Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
vi
18 Natura l Forest : Area by strata and Type . . . . • . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
19 Estimated Timber yield Per Hectare . • • . • . • 78
2 0 Basic Assumptions for Proj ection . . . . . . . . . . 79
2 1 Proj ection of Log Production (mill ion cu . m per annum) • • • . • • . . . • . • . . • . 9 2
2 2 Regression Estimates of the Log Consumption by Sawmi lls , Veneer and Plywood Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
2 3 Inequality Coefficient ( U) , RMS%E and Proportions of Inequality (Um , Us and Uc) for Each Endogenous Variable • • . • • . . . . 106
24 Data used in Forecasting the Log Consumption by Sawmills , Veneer and Plywood Mills in 1992 - 1996 • • . • • • . • • . • . . 108
25 Estimated Future Log Consumption based on Past Trends by Sawmills , Plywood and Veneer Mills in Sabah ( 1992-19 9 6 ) ( cu . m) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
2 6 Estimated Future Log Consumption by Sawmills , Veneer and Plywood Mills , based on Government Agencies and Private Sectors Prediction in Sabah ( 1991-199 6 ) ( cu . m) . . . • • • . . . • • • • • . • • • . • . . • 109
27 Data for Forecast the Future Log Consumption by Domestic Industry in Sabah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
2 8 Scenario 1 : Result o f Log Production Proj ection from Sabah (mil lion cu . m) 147
29 Scenario 2 : Result of Log Production Proj ection from Sabah (million cu . m) 148
3 0 Scenario 3 : Result of Log Production Proj ection from Sabah (million cu . m) 149
3 1 Result for Annual Harvest Area in all Scenarios ( in mil . hal • • . . . . • • • • • . . • . • • . . 150
vi i
J' iqur.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 0
LIST 0.. ..IGURBS
Development of Silvicultural System in Rain Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diaqram of Diaqnostic Samplinq
Previous Forecasts of Loq Production
Scenario 1 , 2 and 3 - Proj ection of Log Production from Sabah • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Scenario 1 , 2 and 3 - Annual Harvest Area .
Actual and Forecast per capita Loq Consumption by Wood-based Industry , Sabah .
Loq Production Proj ection and Domestic Log Consumption in Sabah ( 1992 -1996) • • • • •
Result of Loq Production from Natural and Plantation Forest in Scenario 1 • . • • • •
Result of Loq Production from Natural and Plantation Forest in Scenario 2 • • • • • •
Result of Loq Production from natural and Plantation Forest in Scenario 3 • • • • • •
viii
Paq.
2 0
2 3
5 5
9 3
9 3
110
112
152
152
152
cu . m
dbh
D . W
EPU
EEC
FAO
FDS
FELDA
GNP
GDP
ha
IMP
IDS
LSM
MAl
MUS
NFC
NLC
OLS
OPP2
RIF
RM
SAFODA
SDB
GLOSSARY
Cubic Metre
Diameter Breast Height
Durbin-watson Statistic
Economic Planning unit
Eroupean Economic community
Food and Agriculture Organization of the
united Nations
Forest Department Sabah
Federal Land Development Authority
Gross National Product
Gross Domestic Product
Hectare
Industrial Master Plan
Institute Development Studies
Linear Sampling Miliacre
Mean Annual Increment
Malayan Uniform System
National Forestry Council
National Land Council
Ordinary Least Squares
The Second Outl ine Perspective Plan 199 1 - 2000
Regeneration Improvement Felling
Ringgit Malays ia
Sabah Forestry Development Authority
Sabah Development Bank
ix
SDS
SFI
TAS
TPZ
TSP
USDA
WAI
2 SLS
Statistics Department of Sabah
Sabah Forest Industries
Timber Association of Sabah
Timber Processing Zones
Time Series Package Programme
United states Department of Agriculture
Wood Availablil ity Index
Two Stage Least Squares
x
Abstract of thesis submitted to the Senate of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science .
PLAKHI»G THB PRODUCTIOM ABO COMSUKPTIOM OP TIMBER I. SABAR, IlALAYSIA
by
JOSBPH AHLO
APRIL 1993
Chairman : Associate Prof . Mohd . Zin Jusoh
Faculty Forestry
The forest industry is one of the maj or contributors
to the economy of Sabah . Thus , factors influencing timber
production and consumption affect the state ' s future
economy and industrial development . This study is
undertaken to analyse the past , present and future timber
production of Sabah and to estimate future log consumption
by the domestic wood-based industries .
Recent Sabah forest inventory data and timber yield
estimated by FAO were used for the log production
proj ection . Three scenarios corresponding to dif ferent
assumptions of timber yield and forest management were
developed . For log consumption estimation , static and
dynamic models were used and tested in five functional
forms . Data over 20 years were employed for this
estimation . Data on past trends , government and private
sector's proj ections of domestic and import prices and per
xi
capita income were used in the forecasting of log
consumption .
The annual proj ected log production for scenarios 1 , 2
and 3 were between 2 . 7 to 3 . 7 , 3 . 7 to 4 . 7 and 4 . 7 to 6 . 1
million cu . m per annum respectively for the f irst ten
years . scenario 3 is expected to accommodate domestic log
requirements . About 49 to 9 3 % of log production in all the
scenarios are from natural forests . Government pol icies
on forest plantation , forest management intensities ,
cutting cycle , down-stream processing , land development
and log export quota are the main factors affecting log
production .
The double-log form provides the best regressive
result with respect to significant coefficients for both
the per capita
s ignificant F
income and domestic log price variables , 2
statistic and high R . To test the
suitabil ity of the above estimated consumption functions
for forecasting purposes , the Theil ' s inequality
coeff icients and Percentage of Root Mean Square Error
were estimated and they were found to be very low . The
forecasted domestic log consumptions show that log
consumption wi ll increase around 1 . 0 to 6 . 8% per year from
5 . 94 milliom cu . m in 1992 to 7 . 2 6 million cu . m in 199 6 .
A comparison between forecasted annual log consumption
with proj ected annual production in scenario 3 shows a log
production deficit from 1 . 2 to 2 . 1 mi ll ion cu . m per annum
xii
in the next five years . This implies the need for a policy
review on the export quota , forest management intensities ,
cutting cycle , forest plantations establishment , logging
technique , as well as Timber Processing Zones and down
stream processing industries should be undertaken to take
into account of the forecasted log production deficit .
Log supply alternatives may have to be identified .
xiii
Abstrak tes is yang dikemukakan kepada Senat universiti Pertanian Malays ia sebaga i memenuhi keperluan untuk
mendapatkan Ijazah Master Sains
PERANCANGAN PENGELUARAN DAN PENGGUNAAN BALAK DI SABAH, MALAYSIA
Oleh
JOSEPH AHLAN
Apr i l 1 9 9 3
Pengerusi Prof . Madya Mohd . Z in Jusoh
Fakult i Perhutanan
I ndustri perhutanan merupakan penyumbang utama kepada
ekonomi Sabah .
pengeluaran dan
Faktor-faktor yang
penggunaan balak akan
mempengaruhi
mempengaruhi
ekonomi dan pembangunan industri pada masa depan .
Kaj i an ini bertujuan mengana l is is pengeluaran balak pada
masa l epas , semasa dan akan datang , serta menganggarkan
penggunaan ba lak pada masa depan o leh industri kayu
tempatan .
Data dari inventor i hutan negeri Sabah dan anggaran
has i l ba lak o leh FAO digunakan dalam unj uran pengeluaran
bal ak . Tiga scenario yang menggunakan pelbagai andaian
anggaran has i l balak dan pengurusan hutan diana l i s i s . Bagi
anggaran penggunaan ba lak , mode l statik dan dinamik
digunakan dan diuji dalam l ima bentuk fungsi . Data yang
digunakan merangkumi tempoh 2 0 tahun . Da lam merama l
penggunaan ba lak , data bagi pendapatan per kapita , harga
xiv
balak tempatan dan import digunakan , berasaskan tren masa
lepas dan anqgaran oleh pihak keraj aan dan swasta .
Unj uran pengeluaran balak menunj ukkan pengeluaran
tahunan bagi scenario 1 , 2 dan 3 masing-masing di antara
2 . 8 hingga 3 . 7 , 3 . 7 hingga 4 . 7 dan 4 . 7 hingga 6 . 1 j uta
meter . Hanya scenario 3 dij angka dapat menampung keperluan
balak tempatan . Lebih kurang 49 hingga 9 3 % pengeluaran
balak bagi semua scenario adalah dari hutan asli . Dasar
mengenai ladang hutan , pusingan tebangan , intensiti
pengurusan hutan , kuota eksport balak , pembangunan tanah ,
dan pemerosesan hiliran merupakan faktor mempengaruhi
pengeluaran balak .
Fungsi bentuk double- log memberikan keputusan regresi
yang terbaik dengan pemalar yang signifikan bagi per
capita pendapatan dan harga balak tempatan , statistik F 2
yang signif ikan , dan nilai R yang tinggi . Untuk menguj i
kesesuaian fungsi penggunaan yang dianggarkan untuk
tujuan ramalan , uj ian Thei l ' s dan peratus ralat punca
ganda dua digunakan dan didapati nilainya rendah .
Penggunaan balak tempatan dianggarkan meningkat di antara
1. 0 hingga 6.8% setahun dari 5 . 94 juta meter padu pada
tahun 1992 kepada 7 . 2 6 j uta meter padu pada tahun 1996 .
Perbandingan unj uran penggunaan balak tahunan dengan
unj uran pengeluaran tahunan balak pada scenario 3
menunjukkan berlakunya defisit pengeluaran balak di
antara 1. 2 hingga 2 . 1 juta meter padu setahun untuk
xv
tempoh l ima tahun akan datang . Ini menunj ukkan kaj ian
semula dasar kuota eksport balak , penubuhan ladang
hutan , teknik pembalakan , intensiti pengurusan hutan ,
pus ingan tebangan , industri pemerosesan hil iran dan
zon pemerosesan balak patut dipertimbangkan . Sumber lain
bekalan kayu juga harus dikenalpasti .
xvi
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Problem statement
The Government ' s Second Out l ine Perspective P lan
( 19 9 1 - 2 0 0 0 ) and Vis ion 2 02 0 , coupled with the social
pressure with in Sabah , which stems from its rapidly
expanding populat ion , have led to planning prioriti s ing
further employment opportunities through expanded
industrial development and massive convers ion o f
forested land into agr iculture . During the period 19 7 1
t o 1 9 8 8 , about 4 07 , 3 0 0 ha have been opened up for
agricultural purposes . It is envisaged that between
4 , 2 0 0 to 6 1 , 0 0 0 ha per year of forested l and wi l l be
converted to agriculture in the future ( SD S , 1 9 9 0 ) .
About 1 3 0 , 0 0 0 ha of forested land have been harvested
annual ly f or the period from 1 9 6 5 to 1 9 9 0 ( FDS , 1 9 9 0 b ) ,
whereas the rate of the annua l coupe necessary for
sustained-yield management is only about 3 3 , 4 3 2 ha
( Pardo , 1 9 8 9 ) .
I f this current annual rate of harvesting o f 1 3 0 , 0 0 0
ha , which yie lds an estimated 9 . 0 mi l l ion cu . m o f
r oundlogs , i s not substanti a l ly reduced , i t i s env isaged
that by the year 2 0 0 0 , Sabah w i l l be entirely dependent
1
2
on the remaining Permanent Forest Estate . Thus a
shortfall in production of logs is envisaged by the year
2 00 0 or even earlier if the current wood based industry
operated at its full potential capacity of 7 . 4 million
cu . m ( FOB , 199 1 ) . There wi ll be adverse socio-economic
consequences to the development of the forest sector
especially the sawmill and plywood/veneer industries .
In the last decade , forecasts made of future
forestry and forest industry situations have been
highly variable . The proj ection made by Munang ( 1979 )
indicated that future harvests would initial ly decrease
to 4 . 8 million cu . m per year and then become constant
at 2 . 3 mil lion cu . m beginning 19 80 . However , the
Forestry Department of Sabah ( Chai and Yahya , 1989 )
predicted that under sustained yield forest management ,
the Permanent Forest Estate could only produce about
1 . 2 million cu . m and about 1 . 8 million cu . m from
plantation forest by the year 2 000 which may cause Babah
to become a net importer of forest produce by that year .
other studies proj ected the sustained annual
harvest from the Permanent Forest Estate and Plantation
to be 2 . 6 mi llion cu . m (Poyry , 1990 ) , 3 . 6 ( Liew and
Bario , 1 9 8 0 ) , 4 . 6 million cu . m (John et al . , 1983 ;
Yusuf , 198 5 ) .
3
There is a need to improve log production analysis
by taking full account of future intensive forestry and
forest processing practices , including the utilisation
of lesser known species and smal ler diameter trees , the
establishment of plantation of fast-growing species , the
improvement of logging technique and the intensification
of si lvicultural treatment in the indigenous forests .
Past analyses only considered one level of intens ity of
future forest management , where it was
yield from the forests was not much
assumed that the
higher than that
achieved under current practice in Sabah .
There is
various types of
a need also to take into account the
forest strata which have different
timber yield per ha in the Class I I Commercial Forest
Reserve as indicated in the more recent inventory data
in 1987 . In the past , log production proj ection was
only based on the average volume per ha , not taking into
account the yield per ha from the various strata .
Lastly , there is a need to analyse log production
together with the utilisation by the wood-based
industries in the same study .
4
obj ectiv ••
This thesis attempts to analyse some aspect of the
development of forestry industry in Sabah . The specific
obj ectives are :
( i ) to analyse the past , present , and future timber
production from Sabah , and
( ii ) to forecast the future log consumption by the wood
based industries .
organization of the Thes is
The study wil l be presented as fol lows : Chapter I I
provides a background information on Sabah and a review
of the state forest and forest industry sector . Chapter
I I I reviews past proj ection of log production in
previous studies since 19 79 and ends with a synthesis of
these forecasts . The chapter also discusses the past
log consumption proj ection .
The method of analysis of proj ection of the future
log production and consumptions by the wood
processing mills are presented in Chapter IV . Chapter V
presents the results and discussion of the log
production proj ection corresponding to different
5
assumptions of forest policy , forest management and
timber yield and on the future log consumption by the
wood processing mil ls in Sabah and also the pol icy
implication . Finally , Chapter VI provides the summary
and recommendations of the study .
CHAPTER I I
FOREST AND FORESTRY INDUSTRY I N SABAH
General Background
The Malaysian state of Sabah is situated at the
northern t ip of Borneo I s land . It occupies a tot a l land o 0
area o f 7 , 3 7 1 , 1 0 0 ha between latitudes 4 8 ' and 7 2 2 ' o 0
North and longitudes 1 1 5 9 ' and 1 1 9 1 5 ' East . Sabah
i s predominantly h i l ly and can be div ided into three
regi ons .
( i ) The western lowlands contain the largest area o f
l ow , flat ground and include a number o f o f f-shore
i s l ands . Though narrow in extent these l owlands
are inhabited by almost 7 0 % of the total
popu lation of the state .
( i i ) The Crocker Range runs almost para l l e l to the west
coast , extending from the southern end of Marudu
Bay in the north and fol lowing the coast l ine 2 5
k i lometers inland , and extends southwards a long
the western part of the state to the Sarawak
border . Little or no habitation exists . The
centra l up lands are lower than the Crocker Range
but have a comp lex structure . The region is thinly
populated and the populat ion mainly compri ses of
shi fting cu lt ivators .
6
7
( i i i ) The eastern lowlands , containing low- lying swampy
z ones , embrace the deltas and the maj or r ivers ,
interspersed with sandy stretches o f the
coastl ine . Land use is characterised by l arge
p lantat ions of o i l palm , cocoa and other estate
crops .
C l imate
The c l imate of Sabah is warm and moi st . The o
temperature of the lowland region averages 2 6 . 3 C .
var i ation in temperature is diurnal rather than o 0
seasona l , ranging from 2 3 C to 3 4 C . The average annual
rainfa l l var ies from 1 , 7 3 0 mm to 5 , 0 5 0 mm and i s subj ect
to seas ona l var iation due to the monsoon . The northeast
monsoon i s exper ienced from October or November to
February , and the south-east monsoon from May to August
or September . Between the monsoons , winds are
indeterminate . Humidity is genera l ly high , espec ia l ly
ins ide the forest , at 7 0 - 9 0 % .
Geology and S o i l s
The soi ls of Sabah are genera l ly derived from
s i l iceous sand-stones which compr ise the great mounta in
chain travers ing the state . The exceptions include a
l oca l i sed area of volcanic soil in the Semporna
Peninsul a and intrus ions of soils derived from basic