“ECC welcomes this new legislation,” said ECC forestry manager Tom Linnane.

“Sustainable and responsible procurement policies are vital in maintaining the integrity of the industry and the confidence of the public when buying timber products.”

The EUTR, introduced earlier this month, makes it an offence to sell illegally-sourced wood on the EU market and sets out requirements for timber traders and timber product manufacturers in order to reduce the risk of such products entering the supply chain.

ECC processes more than 350,000m3 of timber a year and operates kiln drying, pressure treatment and ISPM 15 heat treatment timber services.