Source: Packaging Digest
All wood packaging materials used for imported goods into Taiwan beginning 1 January 2009, must be accompanied with certificates to prove that they have been fumigated or heat-treated, quarantine authorities say.
The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine under the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture says that the new measure will be enforced to prevent various vermin from entering into Taiwan, such as Anoplophora glabripennis -- a beetle from China that has already been found in the United States and has become a threat to hardwood trees, with no natural predators.
The bureau says that from now until the end of this year, its officials at ports of entry around Taiwan will use written notices to inform importers about their noncompliance with the new regulation, but will not take further action.
The bureau adds however, that from 1 January next year, any imported goods whose wood packaging materials do not have certificates of fumigation or heat treatment will be destroyed or sent back along with the imported goods to the country of origin.
Previously Taiwan had no regulations regarding the submission of fumigation certificates for wood materials used for packaging import goods.
It only required such certificates when wooden cases or crates were shipped into Taiwan as import items.
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