CHINA: The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China has modified the quarantine requirements concerning WPM for imported consignments effective January 1, 2006 (shipping date). Wood packaging material for all commodities imported should be treated and certified in accordance with the standards established in the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM 15). All WPM must bear the treatment mark that certifies the treatment.

Wood packaging material as defined by China is wood or wood products used in supporting, packing, and carrying a commodity such as crates, wooden crates, pallet, wooden frames, wooden casks, shaftes, wedges, sole timber, sleepers, pallets, dunnage, etc.

The following materials are not subject to treatment and certification:

These are produced by deep processing procedures of synthesizing or heating and pressing wood packing materials such as plywood, fiberboard and flakeboard, excelsior sawdust, wood shaving, slender and curved pieces as well as less than 6mm pieces of wood.

Fumigation

• Coniferous
  • From the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, South Korea, China Taiwan, Hong Kong

Because the above countries have Bursaphelenchus xylophyllus (pinewood nematode), China will NOT accept coniferous WPM that has been fumigated and marked according to ISPM 15.

• Hardwood (non-coniferous)
  • Effective January 1, 2006 , China has amended its regulations and now requires non-coniferous WPM to be treated and marked under ISPM 15. The accepted methyl bromide (MB) treatment schedules are in the table below:

Temperature	Dosage Rate	Hours of Exposure	Minimum Gas Concentration (g/m3
			.5hr	2hr	4hr	16hr
21 C or greater	48	16	36	24	17	14
16 - 20.9 C	56	16	42	28	20	17
11 - 15.9 C	64	16	48	32	22	19

Heat Treatment

Effective January 1, 2006, China has amended its regulations to accept coniferous and hardwood WPM heat treated and marked under ISPM 15.

• ISPM 15: As of January 1, 2006, ALL WPM must be treated and marked according to ISPM 15. The WPM should be heat treated to achieve a minimum wood core temperature of 56 degrees C for a minimum of 30 minutes.