The authorities in China have indicated they would now only allow verified legal wood products to enter the country and that SVLK certificates would be recognised as providing evidence of legality, reports the International Tropical Timber Association (ITTO).
The agreement was forged when an Indonesian delegation led by Putera Parthama, director general of Sustainable Forest Management, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, met with his counterpart, deputy director general of International Cooperation, China State Forestry Administration during the climate change in Paris.
China is a main market for Indonesian wood products and over the past 12 months imported wood products worth around US$2bn.