JAKARTADAILY.ID – Stakeholders within Indonesia's forestry sector remain confident that they can boost their market share in the EU market, despite ongoing talks of more stringent regulations that will be implemented in Europe over the next few years.
In a virtual discussion held on Friday, February 25, Andri Hadi, the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the European Union, informed that the European Union (EU) Commission has submitted the proposal of Deforestation-free Supply Chain (DFSC), which will affect a number of Indonesian commodities, including wood products.
The proposal mentions that commodities entering the EU must be produced in accordance with the deforestation-free product, with the cut-off date as of 31 December 2020.
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There will be a due diligence process, which includes a process to provide geo-coordinates of timber-related products, compliance assessment, and deforestation mitigation process. The due diligence will involve assessing products based on the country of origin and a benchmarking process, where products are classified into low-risk, medium-risk, or high-risk categories.
The DFSC proposal is expected to be fully implemented in early 2024 or by the end of 2023 at the latest. However, before being implemented, the proposal will have to go through various public discussions. This will be the second-largest consultation process in the history of Europe by involving 1.2 million respondents.
In response to this, various stakeholders in the forestry and timber industry in Indonesia held a virtual discussion on Friday, inviting representatives from the government, forestry concessionaires, and forestry-related industry players.
The discussion was organized by the Indonesian Communication Forum of Forestry Community (FKMPI), which consist of the Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI), the Indonesia Pulp & Paper Association (APKI), the Indonesian Wood Panel Association (APKINDO), the Indonesian Furniture Industry & Handicraft Association (ASMINDO), the Indonesian Sawmill and Wood Working Association (ISWA), the Indonesian Light Wood Association (ILWA) and the Indonesian Furniture and Craft Industry Association (HIMKI).
The discussion invited senior officials from a number of ministries in Indonesia, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and the Ministry of Industry.
The Indonesian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union Andri Hadi and the Indonesian Ambassadors to Finland and Estonia Ratu Silvy Gayatri participated in the discussion, along with representatives from Indonesian embassies in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Madrid, London, Berlin, and The Hague.
There were also top officials from Indonesia Trade Promotion Center in Hamburg, Barcelona, Budapest, and Milan.
Indonesia's point of views
Panelists at the virtual meeting discussed the Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS), which has been recognized and transformed into a wood sustainability certificate.
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