The sad state of timber

My search for furniture around Mangalore leaves me disappointed. Wooden furniture is really expensive. India like Africa has timber problems. A lot of valuable timber is protected and hence available only in black markets at exorbitant prices. Malaysian teak wood is more easily available than Indian teak in India. No alarm bells ring for Indians though. Colonialism is perhaps the reason for protecting timber trees in Africa and India. If teak grew in Europe it would flood the market.