Quality of Imported Wood and Wood Based Pane1s in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Attached

Imported sawnwood and panel prbducts have become popular in S~i Lanka recently, especially around Colombo due to scarcity of local good quality timber. Their availability in varying sizes and quantity, the comparatively low price and lllfl t ase of transport wi th relatively free movement has resulted in its widespread use both in construction and furniture. Various technical and anatomical properties of imported wood evaluated in the study revealed that they were of an acceptable quality. Sawn timbers are imported mainly from Malaysia and lesser quantity from Hongkong, South africa, New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia. Major species imported are Kempas, Tualang, Balnu, Resak, Keledang, Kulim, Keruing, Bitis etc. Most timber merchants sell these species as Kempas, but some species are better than Kempas and some have properties inferior than Kempas. Density of these species ranges f rom 1.18 to 0.61 g/cm3. Major panel products imported to Sri Lanka are plywood, mediulIIdonsity fibreboards, particle boards, and cement bonded boards. They are mainly imported from Malaysia, South afrj.ca, and India. According to the survey there are iJl:ferlorquality MDF but these are low in prices. Users ulno use them only in suitable places. Howover almost all the imports of MDF are acceptable in quality in terms of density. Density ranges from 0.71 to 0.80 g/cmJ. According to the quality analysis, it is cLoar that MDF with lower density and higher thickness aro Llle best in quality.