From Bernama.com
Malaysian manufacturers and exporters of timber and timber products have been urged to have their timber exports certified and not be caught unprepared.
Making this call, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Peter Chin said certification was the demand from some countries, especially in Europe, for forest or timber products before they import them.
Timber certification would provide assurance to buyers that their products are from sustainable sources and legally produced, he said.
"Malaysian manufacturers and exporters are urged to be sensitive to these market concerns and trends," Chin said at the presentation of the Certificate for Forest Management and Chain-of-Custody to one of Sarawak's timber giants, Samling Plywood (Baramas) Sdn Bhd here Tuesday.
The certification was issued by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC), the independent organisation established since 2001 to operate the national timber certification scheme.
Chin said the trend of "Green Consumerism" was likely to spread to more countries in the increasingly globalised trading environment.
The government, he said, after consultation with various stakeholders had created the MTCC.
Timber certification using independent assessors is an appropriate market-linked tool to demonstrate sustainable forest management practices and to inform importers and buyers that Malaysian timber products come from well-managed forest, he said.
At Tuesday's ceremony, Samling received the MTCC's Certificate for Forest Management for its Sela'an Linau Forest Management Unit (FMU) while its Certificate for Chain-of-Custody was for its plywood and moulded door skins.
The Sela'an Linau FMU is located in the upper Ulu Baram region and covers an area of 55,949 hectares, comprising about 72 percent Mixed Hill Dipterocrap forest, with the remaining area consisting of Kerangas forest and Montane forest.
So far, eight FMUs nationwide have been certified under the MTCC scheme, including in Pahang, Selangor, Terengganu, Johor, Kedah, Perak and Negeri Sembilan, covering about 4.67 million hectares of Permanent Reserved Forests. Fifty-five timber companies meanwhile have been awarded the Certificate for Chain-of-Custody.
