The Forestry Department began selling certified tropical timbers from Deramakot FR by auction in December 1995, as part of the efforts to improve the economic feasibility of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Sabah.  In the earlier auctions prior to 1998, logs were sold in batches, i.e. no sorting according to species, species group or its utilization aspect.  This has somehow deterred buyers particularly those from overseas, the main market for certified timber.  This was partly because logs were sold without any prior sorting which meant that potential buyers had to accept high amounts of unwanted timber.  Furthermore,  marketing efforts to promote timber from certified forest were not aggressive enough. These rather unsatisfactory results prompted the department to sort logs and auction them off by lots starting in 1998.  This move allowed potential buyers to bid only for timber they were interested in and at a very much higher price.  In January 2000, logs of Selangan Batu (Shorea sp.) was sold for a record price of RM1, 350 (USD 397) per m³.  Sabah Forestry Department conducts 4 to 5 auctions of certified tropical timber from Deramakot every year.  However, the frequency of auction is highly dependent on weather conditions. Interested buyers please click here for contact persons.