JAPAN RECOGNISES SARAWAK'S TIMBER AND TIMBER PRODUCTS, SAYS STA

KUCHING (Malaysia), Aug 3 (Bernama) -- Japan has recognised that timber and
timber products imported from the east Malaysian state of Sarawak under the
Sarawak Chain-of-Custody (Sarawak CoC) are from legal sources, according to the
Sarawak Timber Association (STA).

STA chairman Wong Kie Yik said Tuesday the Forestry Agency of Japan and
Council for Tackling Illegal Logging Issue confirmed these imports complied with
the guidelines besides recognising the verification method of Malaysian timber.

"Japan has been our main trading partner for the last 50 years and it is
important for the members of STA to understand the market requirements set down
by the Forestry Agency of Japan and Council for Tackling Illegal Logging Issue,"
he said in a statement Tuesday as a follow-up to a meeting between the Japan
Lumber Importers' Association (JLIA) and STA here Monday.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation's Sustainable Forestry and Compliance Division
acting deputy general manager Mengga Mikui had briefed the meeting on the
Sarawak CoC, a comprehensive system of tracking the movement of logs in the
state that was tied with the Log Tracking System, whose application had been
extended throughout the state.

Wong said exporters from Sarawak were encouraged to strive for certification
by the state government through its relevant agencies working closely with the
private sector to achieve it.

"They may want to study the Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council forest
certification schemes in Japan, which recently gained popularity there," he
said, adding that Japan would prefer recognised certification schemes, including
the Forest Stewardship Council, Malaysian Forest Certification Scheme
and Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification.

Although there was no green premium for certified products at the moment,
Wong said Sarawak's trade in timber and timber products with Japan might be
disadvantaged in the future if they remained uncertified, owing to the
increasing level of green consumerism in that country.

At the meeting, JLIA executive director Yasuhiro Ohashi said the trend in
Japan was moving towards eco-products with a preference by Japanese consumers
for products manufactured using timber from forest plantations, wood residues or
recycled wood.

The current Democratic Party government of Japan has also set a target of 50
per cent self-sufficiency of timber and timber products by 2020, with 44 per
cent of its forest area of 25.1 million hectares comprising planted forests and
56 per cent natural forests.

Sarawak's exports to Japan for the first half of this year were high and on
an increasing trend since March, favoured by a stronger Japanese yen against the
ringgit.

The STA Panel Products Committee, however, warned that export figures for
July onwards might show a reversed trend due to shortage in the supply of labour
and raw materials.

The committe members later passed a resolution to produce greater quantity
of eco-timber products.
-- BERNAMA