The International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), the China Timber & Wood Products Distribution Association (CTWPDA), together with the Centre for International Forest Products Trade, National Forestry and Grassland Administration (CINFT NFGA), and the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT) will jointly organize a one-week international forum “Together towards Global Green Supply Chains – a Forest Products Industry Initiative”. The event takes place from 22-25 October in Shanghai and Huzhou and aims to promote the advancement of legal and sustainable supply chains and related benefits such as poverty alleviation, creation of employment, economic growth, income generation and contributions to climate change mitigation. 

Two conference days in Shanghai will be followed by field visits in Huzhou and the CTWPDA’s Global Wood Flooring and Global Hardwood Conferences. The organisers’ joint statements with further background information, including the draft programme can be found here.  

According to the organisers, an outcome of the Forum will be to build a joint “Legal and Sustainable Supply Chain (LSSC)– Global Green Supply Chains (GGSC)” Business Exchange Platform “to facilitate business information exchange and continued collaboration in future between increasing numbers of timber producers, buyers, the processing industry and wood product market representatives nationally and internationally”.  

 MM Trade Analyst, Rupert Oliver, and Lead Consultant, Sarah Storck, will both attend the meeting. Mr Oliver will present IMM trade data and IMM will also use the opportunity for liaison with Chinese agencies and furthering planned work on tropical timber trade flow monitoring in China.