Wooden packing industry welcomes EC deadline extension
In April the European Commission said that all wooden pallets and packing shipped from Portugal would have to meet the changes laid down in International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 15 by mid June has been extended until the beginning of 2010. Under the regulation, all wooden packing materials manufactured either inside the country or from any other EC member state will need to be treated and marked before leaving Portugal.
ISPM 15 seeks to address the spread of pests that carry wood-threatening diseases such as Pine Wood Nematode (PWN) in Portugal and lays down that all wooden packaging be heat treated to avoid its spread through their movement throughout the bloc.
The EC Standing Committee on Plant Health said it had made its decision extend the deadline to “avoid disproportionate disruption of trade”. Bur the Commission added it would “count on the efforts of the wood packaging materials, transport and logistics industries to adapt as soon as possible to the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 15 requirement to be fully ready to implement it when the derogation expires at the end of 2009”.
The extension was granted after lobbying by the European Federation of Wooden Pallet and Packaging Manufacturers (FEFPEB). A spokesman for the body told FoodProductionDaily.com: “We welcome the extension because it would not have been possible to meet the original June 16 deadline. The industry needed time to build more capacity. The new deadline will still be difficult, especially for those in Portugal, but it is feasible for the European industry."
Last year, the body outlined its position on the issue saying that while it endorsed the overall aim of ISPM 15, it was concerned the regulation required treatment of all timber packing, whatever its age.
“As explicitly acknowledged in Decision 2008/790/EC, distinction should be made between used and new wood packaging material as the phytosanitary risk of old packaging material is small,” said the FEFPEB in a position paper. It added that this distinction was “of utmost relevance for the industry, as the majority of trade in Europe is achieved by utilising used or repaired wood packaging”.
The body also said current installed heat treatment capacity was “insufficient to support the demands of an extension of ISPM 15”. The wood packaging industry and the supplying machinery sectors would need “several years” to increase this capacity.
