China will require heat treatment of solid wood packing materials made from U.S. softwoods. The proposed regulation will take effect Jan. 1. The action would apply to shipments from the U.S. and Japan.
Chinese officials say they are taking the action because pine wood nematodes, a pest associated with pine wilt disease, has been found in softwood solid wood packing materials from the U.S. The pest has been found 44 times in U.S. shipments to China since October 1998, they said, and has been found in five Chinese provinces.
According to the NWPCA, to comply with the requirements, wood must be heated to 56 degrees C for 30 minutes. Fumigation or chemical treatments are not options.
The biggest problem may hinge on whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture is required to issue paperwork for shipments to China. If so, “the system will grind to a halt”, Robert A. Peters, the NWPCA's information resources director, wrote in a memorandum to the association's leadership recently. The action by China is expected to affect 25% to 35% of its imports.