One of the first PEFC-certified sawn timber consignments from Malaysia has arrived at the port of Antwerp in Belgium. The shipment of 12 tons of Dark Red Meranti (DRM) was exported by the PEFC chain of custody certified company, Low Fatt Wood Industries Sdn. Bhd. (Logo Licence no. PEFC/34-31-079) to Denderwood West Flanders, one of the major importers of Malaysian timber products in Belgium.
Belgium is an important market for Malaysian timber products besides The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In 2009, Europe imported a total of 501,084 cubic metres of timber products from Malaysia. Of this total, 52,761 cubic metres were exported to Belgium. “Thanks to the PEFC certification in Malaysia, we have the opportunity to increase our supply of PEFC-certified wood now at reasonable prices”, said Filip D’Haeseleer of Denderwood.
Since the endorsement of the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) by the PEFC Council, seven Forest Management Units (FMUs) representing 3.97 million hectares of Permanent Reserved Forests in Malaysia have been awarded the PEFC Certificate for Management, while 146 timber companies have been awarded the PEFC Certificate for Chain of Custody. 40 of these companies have signed the PEFC Logo Usage Licence Agreement with MTCC which allows them to use the PEFC Logo on their MTCS-certified timber products.
*source: PEFC Belgium newsletter
