US Dollar Exchange Rates of
25th
January 2017
China Yuan 6.8836
Report from China
US Hardwood KILN Drying Certification Conference
held in Beijing
At a recent conference in Beijing the US hardwood klin
drying certification programme was promoted. The
conference was co-hosted by the American Hardwood
Export Council (AHEC), the National Hardwood Lumber
Association (NHLA), the Hardwood Special Committee of
the Shanghai Timber Industry Association, the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Participants were informed that the NHLA kiln drying
certification system has been recoginised as a cost
effective alternative to the US phytosanitary procedures by
member states of the EU, Australia, Brazil, Mexico,
Venezuela and Vietnam. However, as a major market for
US hardwoods, China has not yet agreed to accept the
NHLA kiln drying certificate as an equal to a
phytosanitary certificate.
The NHLA certification system achieves the same goals as
the APHIS Phytosanitary Certificate but at a lower cost to
both APHIS as well as exporters. The system for
hardwoods mirrors the successful fifteen year old
softwood certification programme.
The organisers of the Beijing conference hope that, by
explaining the details of the NHLA system to the Chinese
National General Administration of Quality, Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine, trade can be expanded.
See;
http://www.365f.com/news/news_desc.asp?name=37750
No to imports of sandalwood from Guinea and Guinea
Bissau
China¡¯s office for Endangered Species recently reminded
Chinese timber enterprises not to import African
sandalwood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) from Guinea and
Guinea Bissau because sandalwood products from these
two countries was prohibited as African sandalwood is
listed in Appendix II of CITES.
Timber companies targeted in crack-down on VOCs
According to Environmental Protection Bureau in
Dongguan City, policies will be introduced to control air
borne pollution from 12 industrial sectors including woodbased
panels, furniture and coating manufacturers.
This has been done as these industries have a record of
producing high levels of VOC emissions. These industries
are said to be the main contributors to air pollution in the
Pearl River Delta region.
The city has demarcated a zone where strict controls will
be applied to eliminate VOCs. Wood-based panel
industries will not be allowed in the designated zone. The
government of Dongguan City is asking wood-based panel
manufacturers to use environment-friendly low toxicity
adhesives, lower volatile solvents and to introduce VOC
capture technologies.
Log imports through Caofeidian Port
According to Hebei Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine
Bureau, log imports through Caofeidian Port were 832,900
cubic metres valued at US$111 million in 2016, a year on
year increase of more than 700%. Russia and Australia
were the new suppliers along with the usual suppliers of
Canada, the US and New Zealand.
The range of species imported expanded to include
Caribbean pine and araucaria along with the usual douglas
fir, hemlock, spruce and fir.
E-commerce given priority
The National Development and Reform Commission, the
Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace
Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce recently issued
details of plans for inter-departmental collaboration in ecommerce.
The 13th Five-Year Plan for Development of ECommerce
issued by the Ministry of Commerce not long
ago gives e-commerce services the target of achieving
both economic growth and social development.
The plan has three targets for China¡¯s e-commerce sector
for 2020: e-commerce transaction values at RMB40
trillion, online retail sales of RMB10 trillion and a
workforce of 50 million people.
For cross-border e-commerce, the plan aims to accelerate
the speed of integrated customs clearance, promoting the
building of a ¡°single window¡± integrated service system
for customs, inspection and quarantine, payment, tracking
and taxation and raising the efficiency of integrated
customs clearance services. On rural community ecommerce
the aim is to support new business formats such
as farming and forestry.
see:
Working System of the Ministerial Working Group for
Comprehensive Collaboration in Promoting Development of ECommerce
Implementation Plan of the Three-Year Campaign for Promoting
Development of E-Commerce (2016-2018)
13th Five-Year Plan for Development of E-Commerce
  
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