Mr White, addressing 23 hardwood traders, said a big change had taken place in recent years, with the timber industry’s efforts, including the TTF’s Responsible Purchasing Process, resulting in the UK being held up as an international example of legal and sustainable timber procurement.
Greenpeace’s targeting of UK timber companies had stopped, he added, with the NGO endorsing the industry’s efforts on timber sourcing. The group had even attended the TTF’s annual dinner.
"And we have not seen any problems at all with the National Measurement Office [over the EU Timber Regulation]," said Mr White. "I have no doubt that tropical wood coming into the UK is 100% kosher. I have no qualms about saying that at all. The supply side of things is solved, now we need to promote wood."
LHC president Robert Morgan, of Morgan Timber, questioned if the disproportionately high level of TTF time and attention focused on the tropical trade, compared to other parts of the timber trade, was worth it.
"The tropical timber trade is a key part of the international development agenda and we are not making enough of it," responded Mr White.
He said it would have been great to show a positive message about how tropical wood used in the London Olympics construction programme was benefiting people at the forest source, with harvesting operations leading to the creation of homes and schools in rainforests.
"That’s the argument we have to make about the tropical timber trade. But it’s wrong to be mowing down virgin forests to plant oil palms."
Ken Walsh of Danzer UK challenged the view that the battle with NGOs was won.
"The argument is not by any means won," Mr Walsh said. "Aggressive NGOs are targeting companies. They do not want industrial-scale logging in tropical regions."
Elsewhere in his speech, Mr White called for serious rationalisation among the timber sector representational organisations. "There are too many," he said.
And he said he had never known such a "social" industry, counselling not to underestimate the value of networking.
