China’s plywood manufacturers should upgrade their production methods to comply with tighter US formaldehyde standards for composite wood products, according to the secretary general of China’s Technical Committee of Wood-based Panel Standardization.
Since January, the US has adopted limits on formaldehyde emissions established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that are far below levels permitted in China and many other countries, Fordaq reported on August14.
The US is China’s largest market for furniture and plywood, accounting for a third of its furniture production and a quarter of its plywood output.
China is looking at ways to encourage its plywood producers to adopt new technologies and improve product quality so the industry can maintain its share of the US market.
By the end of June, according to analysts, more than 400 Chinese enterprises had achieved California CARB certification for products destined for the US.
According to Fordaq, in 2010, China produced 154 million m3 of wood based panels, including 71.4 million m3 of plywood (46%) and 43.5 million m3 of fibreboard (28.4%). The country exported 7.55 million m3 (10.6%) of its total plywood output, and 1.93 million m3 (5.6%) of fibreboard.
