The UK received on January 16, 2017, Indonesia's first legally certified timber shipment. At the Tilbury harbor located in London, the Indonesian Ambassador to London Rizal Sukma was present to unbox the cargo.
"I'm proud to witness Indonesia's first FLEGT timber product being sent to England. This is the result of hard work from a number of parties that continuously monitored the implementation of Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK)," Rizal said.
James Lathams Ltd and Falcon Panel Product Ltd and importer agent Plaut International Ltd. were the companies to have imported the product, as reported by Tempo.Co.
"By implementing the FLEGT license, I believe that importers would place more trust regarding the legality of Indonesia's timber exports," Rizal stated.
Rizal also hopes that the Indonesia-England trade that reached US$ 127 million in 2015, would keep on incresaing in the future years.
Chairman of James Lathams, Piers Latham, welcomed the implementation of FLEGT certification on Indonesian wood products. "The FLEGT license will help assure UK-based companies about the legality of Indonesian timber and wood products", Piers said.
There were 17 cargo loads that were sent through Tilbury, Liverpool, and Grangemouth, as the Indonesian Wood Panel Association (APKINDO) recorded.
