Economy of Malaysia#Natural resources

Malaysia is well endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry and minerals. In terms of agriculture, Malaysia is one of the top exporters of natural rubber and palm oil, which, together with sawn logs and sawn timber, cocoa, pepper, pineapples and tobacco, dominate the growth of the sector.[citation needed] Palm oil is also a major generator of foreign exchange.

Logging only began to make a substantial contribution to the economy during the 19th century. Today, an estimated 59% of Malaysia remains forested. Substantial areas are being silviculturally treated and reforestation of degraded forestland is being carried out. The Malaysian government provides plans for the enrichment of some 312.30 square kilometers (120.5 sq mi) of land with rattan under natural forest conditions and in rubber plantations as an inter crop.[citation needed] Rubber, once the mainstay of the Malaysian economy, has been largely replaced by oil palm as Malaysia's leading agricultural export.[citation needed]

Tin and petroleum are the two main mineral resources of major significance to the Malaysian economy. Malaysia was, at one time, the world's largest producer of tin prior to the collapse of the tin market in the early 1980s. In 1972 petroleum and natural gas took over from tin as the mainstay of the mineral extraction sector.[citation needed] In 2004, Malaysia is ranked 24th in terms of world oil reserves and 13th for gas.[citation needed] Malaysia's broad and shallow continental shelf consists of several deep water prospective areas. Malaysia has 500,000 km2 available for oil and gas exploration.

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