In a letter to TTJ, EIA forest campaigner Pallavi Shah said a market report “Supply problems remain focus of Asian traders” was innacurate when it stated that Indonesia had lifted its ban on the export of sawn lumber.
The article went on: “There are some restrictions including that lumber must be 18% moisture content or less, and of regular shape with parallel sides.”
Mr Shah said confusion over the status of Indonesia’s sawn timber export ban arose when the Indonesian government revoked the October 2004 sawn timber export ban on February 2 this year.
However, it was replaced with a strengthened Regulation on the Export of Forest Industry Products which elucidates and defines more clearly the inclusions and exemptions of the export ban.
The new regulation still bans the exports of railway sleepers (all items under HS Code 4406) and sawn timber (all items under HS Code 4407). The only exemptions are for a limited range of sawn wood items falling under HS Code 4407 which are planed on all sides (S4S) and kiln- or air-dired to a moisture content below 16%. Additional rules limit the size of items allowed for export under this exemption.
Plain S4S timber must have a cross-section no greater than 40cm2; door or window jambs should be more more than 60mm thick and 150mm wide; door or window frames no thicker than 40mm and no wider than 200mm; and finger-jointed S4S should be no longer than 1500mm.
He said Indonesian language versions of the revised regulations are available on the Indonesian Ministry of Trade and Industry website, and added that the EIA has commissioned a translation. “While we believe it to be sufficiently accurate, it cannot be quoted as having been sanctioned by the government of Indonesia,” he said.
A copy of the translated regulation can be obtained by calling +44 (0) 207 354 7960.
