Global Markets Respond Positively to Indonesian Certification
Indonesian exports of forestry products rose threefold in the first half of this year compared to 2013 – and the government credits the growth to global market confidence in the country’s timber legality certification (SVLK).
Indonesian timber legality certification has “paved the way” for the nation’s forest products sector to penetrate markets where countries are imposing audit schemes.
Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry secretary general, Hadi Daryanto, has told journalists that forestry product exports “are skyrocketing as more buyers seek legal timber. Our country is ahead of others in providing traceable legal forestry products now that exporters are only allowed to market SVLK-certified timber.”
A report in the Jakarta Post said that ministry data shows that forestry exports reached US$1.53 billion by July – more than three times the same period in 2012 and close to last year’s annual total.
The report suggested that “the market favored Indonesia’s legally-certified timber, now that the government had obliged exporters to verify their timber products before sending them abroad”.
Secretary-general Hadi told the newspaper: “The certification has helped pave the way for Indonesia to penetrate global markets where countries have started imposing an audit scheme for legal timber imports.”
The US introduced the Lacey Act in 2008 and the European Union (EU) introduced the EU Timber Regulation this year, both of which ban the trade of illegally-sourced timber and wood products, with penalties for importers that fail to comply.
