YANGON, January 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar is running short of teak for export as supply of them has declined considerably in the past two decades, according to the state-run Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE).
   The MTE, which is under the Ministry of Forestry, has warned that timber exporters in the country will have to depend more on logs other than teak out of such status.
   The shortage of teak is believed to have been due to the indiscriminate felling of trees in the forest.
   According to the MTE figures, Myanmar produced about 200,000 tons of teak from its forests each year since the fiscal year 1997-98, down from about 400,000 tons in the 1970s.
   To overcome teak shortage, Myanmar launched a special plantation plan five years ago and has been able to plant more than 32,400 hectares of teak.
   The figures also show that in the fiscal year 2000-01, Myanmar's forestry sector earned about 280 million U.S. dollars through timber export, of which the state sector accounted for 200 million, while the rest went to the private sector.
   The ministry had carried out forestation and reforestation projects in the country's central arid zone to prevent the region from becoming a desert in the next five decades.  Enditem