Furniture makers see decline in exports due to California ban

PHILIPPINE FURNITURE exports may decline because of a California ban on wood products containing formaldehyde, an industry group has said. Furniture makers are in need of formaldehyde-free raw materials and are calling for the formation of a local certifying board to meet US standards for wood products. Under an "airborne toxic control measure," California will start barring the entry of furniture and other wood products that have high formaldehyde emissions by January 2009, after finding that exposure to the substance may cause cancer. "We will have a problem shipping to California...It is a major port of entry," Ruby B. Salutan, executive director of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc. said in a phone interview on Friday. The US constitutes 60% to 70% of the market of the Cebu furniture industry, Ms. Salutan said. Many local furniture makers, particularly smaller ones, are unable to meet the standards because there is no certifying body in the country that will issue the documents required by the US state, Ms. Salutan said. The Forest Management Bureau (FMB) cannot serve as certifier as the US requires private third-party bodies to do it, FMB Director Romeo T. Acosta was quoted in a Philippine Exporters’ Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) statement as saying. Guidelines for setting such a body, however, have already been released, Philexport said in the statement. Aside from a certifying body, locally available formaldehyde-free plywood is needed, Ms. Salutan said. "Not a single member of the Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) makes wood within the required range of formaldehyde emissions [so] members are sourcing imported wood from accredited sources [instead]. This will hurt small firms," Ms. Salutan said. Some producers are able to import certified materials and have their products tested abroad, but this may be too expensive for the rest of the furniture industry, she added. "We are still studying [how many] businesses are affected," she added. PWPA plywood council chief Alfonso C. Keh, Jr., confirmed that cheap formaldehyde-free plywood is not readily available in the country. "It’s not difficult to [make] but we only have one glue supplier in Manila. The firm uses urea formaldehyde [for glue], Mr. Keh said in a phone interview. Buyers have the option of using marine plywood, a waterproof material that does not emit formaldehye, Mr. Keh said. However, this type is 10-15% more expensive than regular plywood. "It is easy to create a solution. I’m sure [wood producers] will respond and start to service the [furniture] market," Mr. Keh said. In the meantime, a list of foreign suppliers of accredited plywood needs to be prepared to aid furniture makers, Ms. Salutan said. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, BusinessWorld