Agriculture & Food

Relying on abundant natural resources, bamboo, wood and grass products have become one of my country's traditional export industries. Taking Guangxi as an example, there are more than 300 manufacturers of bamboo, wood and grass products registered for export. The main export products include bamboo, wood, rattan, willow, grass, and awns. From January to July this year, Guangxi exported bamboo, wood and grass products. The value of goods was RMB 1.7 billion, a decrease of 2.5% over the same period last year. Most of my country's bamboo, wood and straw products export enterprises are small and micro enterprises. Due to the lack of understanding of international standards and the relevant technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures of the export destination countries, they have been deeply affected by foreign technical trade measures.

1. The impact of foreign technical trade measures on the export of Chinese bamboo, wood and straw products enterprises

What are the manifestations of foreign technical trade measures against bamboo, wood and grass products?

The specific technical trade measures encountered by enterprises exporting bamboo, wood and straw products mainly focus on international standard system certification requirements, EU CE, EU FSC certification (forest certification), US CARB certification (California Air Resources Management Board certification) requirements, technical standards and packaging And marking requirements, toxic and hazardous substances limit requirements, and pest protection requirements.

What are the impacts of foreign technical trade measures on my country's exports of bamboo, wood and straw products?

At present, my country's bamboo, wood and grass product export enterprises are greatly affected by the technical and trade measures of the United States, the European Union, Australia and other countries in terms of plant pests, weeds, pesticide and veterinary drug residues and certification. Since most companies do not have specialized laboratories or testing institutions, they have to pay higher costs for certification, accreditation and pesticide and veterinary drug residue testing. According to a feedback from a household goods company in Guangxi, due to the EU's FSC certification (that is, forest certification) requirements for wood products, the company had previously lost 3 million yuan in orders due to failure to obtain certification. At the beginning of this year, the company invested 500,000 yuan for the certification, which led to an increase in product export costs. In addition, many small and micro enterprises in Guangxi have chosen to abandon the EU market due to the high cost of certification.

2. What are the main foreign technical trade measures that have a relatively large impact on the export of my country's bamboo, wood and grass products?

The Lacey Act of the United States and the Formaldehyde Standards Act for Composite Wood Products

The Lacey Act of the United States requires that all wood products enter the United States with a "legal" certificate of wood origin. If a company receives a prosecution or investigation for the use of suspicious timber, both exporters and purchasers will face the risk of confiscation, fines, and even imprisonment.

The "Composite Wood Products Formaldehyde Standard Act" is the most stringent formaldehyde emission standard in the global composite wood products industry. The United States stipulates that composite wood products such as hardwood plywood, particleboard and medium-density fiberboard must meet formaldehyde emission standards; must obtain composite standards recognized by a third-party certification body; must be accompanied by a label indicating the product manufacturer’s name, batch number, and third-party certification Agency number and declaration of compliance with release standards. In terms of specific values, the formaldehyde emission of hardwood plywood made of veneer core or composite core shall not exceed 0.05ppm, the formaldehyde emission of particleboard shall not exceed 0.09ppm, and the formaldehyde emission of medium density fiberboard shall not exceed 0.11ppm, which is significantly higher than The current standard in my country and other countries in the world.

EU "Labeling Law of Country of Origin" and forest certification (FSC certification)

The EU’s "Country of Origin Labeling Act" aims to ensure that sellers clearly know the origin of raw materials for imported goods in Europe, and wood products exported to the EU market must obtain an "identity card", which proves that the wood purchased by the manufacturer is produced by legally developed products. Forest. Forest certification (FSC certification) is to put a "green label" on wood that meets environmental protection standards. At present, this certification is a forest certification system widely recognized in international trade, including forest management certification (FM) and chain of custody There are two types of certification (COC). According to EU regulations, commodities exported to the EU include forest products whose production process conforms to EU requirements and can enjoy a certain percentage of tariff concessions. If companies can affix the FSC label, they can apply to the customs for a considerable percentage of tariff discounts. And foreign companies that have not obtained FSC forest certification will not enjoy EU tariff preferences.

Indian Imported Wood Products Permit Standards and Fumigation Standards

The Indian Phytosanitary (Import Management Regulations) Act (Fifth Amendment) puts forward new quarantine requirements for timber and wood/bamboo products exported to India. The law stipulates that wood and wood/bamboo products with or without bark should be fumigated or heat treated before export, and the plant quarantine officer of the exporting country shall issue a phytosanitary certificate after passing the quarantine. The fumigation treatment requires 48g/m3 of methyl bromide fumigation at 21°C or higher for 24 hours; the heat treatment requires heat treatment in the kiln at 56°C (the core temperature of the wood) for 30 minutes.

Fumigation requirements for imported wood products in Australia

Australia requires that all wood products exported to Australia undergoing methyl bromide fumigation treatment must be accompanied by a fumigation certificate, and the treatment standards must comply with Australia's methyl bromide fumigation regulations. Regarding the issue of plastic wrapping, it is required to indicate on the certificate "unused plastic package", "fumigation treatment before using plastic package" or "plastic package used meets the requirements of the Australian methyl bromide fumigation standard" regarding wrapping and perforation.

3. What can companies do in the face of foreign technical trade measures?

1. Improve product technical content

Enterprises should establish the concept of "manufacturing enterprise is the first person responsible for product quality", actively promote standardized production, strengthen the monitoring of the whole production process, implement strict inspection and quarantine, and control the "access and exit" barriers to improve product quality and enhance competition force. At the same time, we should actively strengthen technological innovation, improve production processes, and adapt to the technical standards of export destination countries/regions.

2. Actively carry out international certification work

Carry out R&D and production in accordance with the standards and regulatory requirements of the export destination country/region, further improve the quality management system centered on the control of harmful organisms, toxic and hazardous substances and traceability management, and strengthen the safety of raw materials entering the factory, production processing, storage, etc. Quality check and control, and obtain international certification as soon as possible, and obtain qualified inspection certificate.

3. Timely feedback information to the customs

Enterprises are the witnesses of technical trade measures, and they can grasp the changes of relevant measures more timely and respond more quickly, and the solutions proposed are often professional, pertinent and feasible. Therefore, it is recommended that the majority of bamboo, wood and straw product export companies closely follow the latest changes in foreign technical regulations, communicate with the customs in a timely manner and reflect the problems encountered by the company, which will help companies to deal with the possibility of technical trade measures for the export of bamboo, wood and straw products in my country. The adverse effects.