UK-grown wood already provides credible evidence that it is legally felled and doesn’t need extra red tape and cost burdens through European legislation currently being drafted, the UK Forest Products Association (UKFPA) has warned.
The UKFPA called on Defra, which would ultimately apply European legislation, to assure the UK forest products industry that no significant burden would be placed on it.
The draft due diligence legislation, aimed at helping to stop illegal timber products coming into the EU, contains onerous requirements for operators who are the first supply chain link to place timber products on the market.
The move is designed to fight illegal timber imported in the EU, but UK woodland owners who place their timber on the market could also find themselves needing to meet the rules.
UKFPA executive director David Sulman said robust controls were already in place and were governed by the Forestry Commission, as well as forestry management and chain of custody certification.
