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China Will Not Rely On Imports to Meet Timber Demand: Official
China has the capacity to produce enough timber to meet domestic demand and will not rely on imports, a senior Chinese forest official said on June 13.
Wang Zhibao, director of State Forestry Administration, said at a press conference that China has more than 260 million hectares of forest. If ten percent is used to develop fast-growing trees for commercial purposes, there will be no problem to meet the demand for timber at home.
It is estimated that China's timber demand is about 150 million cubic meters a year. Supply on the international market, however, is only around 120 million cubic meters. China must therefore place special emphasis on developing fast-growing trees for commercial use, he said, adding that if these trees can meet domestic, illegal logging will be greatly reduced.
He said that China has mapped out strategies for developing its forests by focusing on planting trees in China's western region and improve commercial forest bases in the eastern region.
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