LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
PEACE INDEPENDENCE DEMOCRACY UNITY PROSPERITY

Ministry of Industry and Commerce
Department of Industry and Handicraft          No. 1009/DIH.SD
Vientiane capital, dated 18 October 2016

Guidance

On List of Eligible and Prohibited Wooden Products for Export

• Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Order on Enhancing Strictness on the Management and Inspection of Timber Exploitation, Timber Movement and Timber Business No. 15/PM dated 13 May 2016;
• Pursuant to the Decision of the Minister of Industry and Commerce on Organizational Structure and Activities of Department of Industry and Handicraft No. 1551/MOIC, dated 31 August 2016;
• Pursuant to the Decision on the Approval of eligible and prohibited Wooden Products’ list for Export of Minister of Industry and Commerce No. 1833/MOIC, dated 03 October 2016.

     In order to successfully enhance and implement the Prime Minister’s Order No. 15/PM, dated 13 May 2016, and the Minister of Industry and Commerce’s Decision on Approval of Eligible and Prohibited Wooden Products’ list for Export No. 1833/MOIC dated 03 October 2016, and to contribute into the management, and sustainable forest protection as well as strengthen the wood processing industry moving toward the development direction

Director-General of the Industry and Handicraft department Issues a guidance as follows:

1. List of Eligible Wooden Products for Export

List of eligible wooden products for export consists of 12 items or categories. Each category includes various types and forms. Some types and forms indicate clear timber species, width, thickness and length.

The eligible wooden products for export consists of both Lao and English names, product codes including heading and sub-heading of products (See appendix 01 of the Decision on the approved list of Eligible and Prohibited Wooden Products for Export of Minister of Industry and Commerce No. 1833/MOIC, dated 03 October 2016) as follows:

1. Sawdust briquettes and pellets

Sawdust products consists of 02 types such as sawdust briquettes and sawdust pellets. Those products are made from sawdust, wood shavings, pine wood, and wood scrap from wood processing factories. They are glued together as briquettes, pellets, sheets and etc. Sawdust, wood shaving, pine wood, and wood scrap must come from wood processing factories. If the briquettes and pellets are made from those that are extracted from the forest or other sources they are prohibited to export.

2. Charcoal products

      There are two types of charcoal products. White charcoal and charcoal briquettes from sawdust their details are as follows:

2.1. White charcoal is charcoal product made from mai tew extracted from plantation or recovery forest area which obtain an approval for extracting in accordance with relevant regulations and in consistence with the promotion of household plantation to supply materials for the production of charcoal.

2.2. Charcoal briquettes made from sawdust is the charcoal product compressing sawdust and turn it into processed briquettes or pellets then burned or processed into charcoal.

3. Interior parquet and flooring

            Interior parquet and flooring consists of 4 types such as parquet, flooring, wall and ceiling panel and solid parquet. Their size, thickness, length and width are indicated. These products have specific size through the process by incubating, cutting, shaving, sanding and gluing, cheeking and mortising or non-cheeking and non-mortising with four edges shaved, colouring or non-colouring, some types with mortises to avoid slip.

3.1. There are three types of parquet: solid parquet, flooring joint laminated (FJL) parquet and mosaic parquet.

3.2. There are five types of flooring: OPC flooring, UNI flooring, FJL flooring, engineered flooring and decking tile.

3.3. There are four types of wall and ceiling panels: V shape ceiling panel, FJL ceiling panel, engineering panel and logged panel.

3.4. Joint finger woods are made from short and small size of woods to be joined together by glue as long joined finger.

• Description of the above mentioned products are as follows:
• Flooring joint laminated products are made from short and small pieces of wood to be joined and glued together as a long joined finger. The production processing include incubating, cutting, tenoning and gluing as a long finger and a panel in accordance with the size indicated before further processing such as shaving, cheeking and mortising, sanding, colouring or non-colouring.
• UNI flooring products are made from wooden board glued together with 2 or 3 layers and compressed with high pressure machine, and with good quality and beauty of woods stick on top of the panels (the thickness of covered wood is not more than 3 mm) with some processing required such as incubating, sliding, cutting, tenoning and gluing as a long finger and a panel in accordance with the size indicated sizes, shaving, cheeking and mortising with four edges shaved, sanding, colouring or non-colouring.
• Wall and ceiling panel products are wooden products going through the process such as incubating, cutting, shaving, cheeking and mortising with four edges shaved, sanding, colouring or non-colouring.
• Finger joint wood products are made from short and small pieces of wood to be joined and glued together as a long joined finger with some processing required such as incubating, cutting, tenoning and gluing as a long finger and a panel in accordance with the size indicated, with four edges shaved, sanding and proper packaging.    

4. Plywood product

Plywood product consists of seven types such as ply wood made from sawdust and shaving dust, particle board, MDF board, fiberboard, plywood from veneer, block board, laminated board, FJL board and laminated board for table top with indicated size: thickness, length and width. The raw materials of plywood shall be only from plantation and natural forest (timber control category 1, 2 and 3).

4.1. Products of ply wood made from sawdust and shaving dust is made from mixing sawdust or wood shaving together with glue and then putting it in the flame with high pressure machine and incubating to get a good combination of panel for use.

4.2. MDF board is made from soft woods or planted woods (eucalyptus and the two different types of acacia: Kathinalong and Kathithepha) with the diameter less than 14 cm including pine wood, small size of wood and brushwood. These are grind, incubated, and then mixed with glues before putting it in the flame with high pressure machine and incubating to get a good combination of panel for use.

4.3. Veneer Plywood is made from layers of veneer joined together with glues and compressed by high pressure machine turning it into a board. Veneer might be attached on the top or at the back, and the sawdust or others might be used in the middle.

4.4. Laminated board or FJL board and laminated board for table’s surface are made from wood products made from a piece of wood (not exceed 15 cm width) or small, short woods to be joined together with glues as a long joined finger, compressed with high pressure machine and turn it to a panel through the process such as incubating, cutting, compressing, sanding, etc.    

5. Wooden handle products

There are many categories and types of wooden handle products such as wooden picture frame, mirrors frame, packing cases, boxes, pallets, wooden barrels, tools, and etc. Raw materials used must be planted and natural wood (timber control category 1, 2 and 3). For pellets only planted wood must be used (eucalyptus and the two different types of acacia: Kathinalong and Kathithepha). Its size must be under 5 cm for the thickness, 15 cm for the width and 200 cm for the length.

6. Builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood

There are seven types of builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood such as window set, door set, wooden shingles, wooden fences, assembled flooring panel with mosaic pattern, multilayer scantlings and staircases with identified thickness, width and length.

Builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood must be finished wooden products for an instant use, can be instantaneously assembled and knock-down for a convenient transshipment, but they must be in full set or unit such as a set of windows, a set of doors, staircases (it is not permitted to export one piece).

6.1. Finished door and window flames are made from finger hard woods or joint woods through the production process of incubating, shaving, cheeking and mortising, cutting edges of cheeks and mortises to be assemble as a complete set or knock-down for transport.

6.2. Wooden shingles and wooden fences are the products that have been through the production process of incubating, shaving, turning it to an indicated shape, edging, mortising, coloring or non-coloring, etc. and the materials must be only timber control category 1, 2, 3.

6.3. Flooring panel with mosaic pattern are made from wooden sheets, short woods, and small wood joined together with glued and then compressed with high pressure machine through the production process of incubating, cutting, shaving to turn it to an indicated shape, coloring or non-coloring, etc and the materials must be only timber control category 1, 2, 3.

6.4. Multilayer scantlings are made from wooden panel glued together in layers, compressed by high pressure machine through the production process of incubating, sliding, and cutting, thorough shaving, and compressing layers as indicated, four edges shaved, sanding, coloring or non-coloring to be used specifically for the timber control category 1, 2, 3,

6.5. Horizontal or vertical stair board must be gone through the production process of incubating, cutting, sanding, coloring or non-coloring, etc. both single board or joined board in accordance with the sizes indicated.

7. Handicrafts made from wood

Handicrafts made from wood consist of many types and styles such as tableware, cutting boards (detailed information of the cutting boards see bullet 3 of II: List of Prohibited Wooden Products for Export), wooden handicrafts, wooden musical instruments, and others. For craving its size must be smaller than or equal to 2,5 cm for the thickness, 30 cm for the width and 100 cm for the length. The materials must be only planted wood, natural hardwood, and timber control category 1, 2 and 3.

8. Furniture made from wood 

Furniture made from wood consists of many types and styles. They are wooden products that can be instantly used, assembled or knock-down. Such products can be exported in pieces, but they must be in a full set or unit and they are packaged in full set or unit according to the markets’ demand. They shall be gone through the production process following the products’ styles such as table, chair, cabinet, bed, and others. A sole piece of products is prohibited to export such as one leg of table, one leg of chair. The materials shall be only planted wood, natural hard wood and timber control category 1, 2, 3.             

9. Product made from Bamboo and Rattan

Bamboo products are the products that have been through the preliminary or complete production process such as cutting into stick and stakes, making round shape, joining and compressing, and others.

Rattan products shall be finished products and can be used instantly such as cabinet, tables, chairs, beds, and others.

10. Split poles, piles, pickets (round wood), stakes of wood and sawn wood (from plantation areas)

Planted wood for making split poles, piles, pickets (round wood), stakes of wood and sawn wood shall come from plantation areas (eucalyptus and the two different types of acacia: Kathinalong and Kathithepha) with the diameter of smaller than or equal to 12 cm.

Planted Sawn wood including all type of products made from planted wood shall be from planted areas (eucalyptus and the two different types of acacia: Kathinalong and Kathithepha) with the size of less than 5 cm for the thickness, 15 cm for the width and 200 cm for the length.

These wood and wooden products must be made from planted woods and their species must be only originated from eucalyptus and the two different types of acacia: Kathinalong and Kathithepha. Apart from those species they are not permitted to export.  

11. Wood flour products

Wood flour products are made from planted wood (eucalyptus and the two different types of acacia: Kathinalong and Kathithepha) that have been gone through the production process of cutting, grinding, boiling, filtering until it turns into cellulose fiber powder or wood fiber devised from wood pulp.

12. Aka Wood (grind into powder or chop into small pieces)

Aka wood that are chopped into small pieces or grinded into powder shall be brought from plantation areas. Labor or machinery can be used to grind it into power or chop it into small pieces.

II. Prohibited List of Wooden Products for Export

Wooden products that are prohibited to export are all type, category, style and size that are not shown in the list of wooden products for export such as decorating column; wooden column and laminated beams; tables and chairs having a large single sheet of natural wood; cutting board with a size larger than 5 cm of the thickness, 30 cm of the width and 50 cm of the length; planted woods with large diameter over 12 cm (>12 cm); all types of black charcoal; exterior flooring; skirting; wood for vehicle body; coffin; truck body joinery; balustrades; stair rail and laminated stair rail. Details are attached in an appendix 02 of the decision on the adoption of eligible and prohibited list of wooden products for export of Minister of Industry and Commerce, No. 1833/MOIC, dated 03 October 2016 as the following:        

1. Decorating column; wooden column and laminated beam; mounded timber products; exterior flooring wood including construction woods such as house roof construction (edge cut, plumb cut, hip rafters, seat cut, jack rafters, top plate, common rafters, ridge board, brace, fascia board, ceiling joists), wall plate, brace cut in between rafters, top plate of internal wall, soffit plate, scotia moulding, purlin, stud which are not in the eligible list of wooden products for export. If all construction woods are from prohibited timber species, special and control list in the timber control category 1, 2 and 3 and in the form of one single round wood, cut wood, sawn wood, semi products or finished products are prohibited for export.
2. Furniture made from all type of timber with one single panel from natural wood, for example: table, chair, wooden sofa attained from sawing and cutting with large diameter as one single panel to be parts and assembled table, chair, sofa, etc. in a none economic/efficient manner as laid out in the bullet 03 (see the pictures) of the prohibited list of wooden products for export.
3. Cutting board consists of two types: round and square cutting board. For a cutting board with the size over 30 cm diameter, 5 cm thick are prohibited to export. Square cutting board consists of 2 types such as long and square and square shape. A long square cutting board with the size over 5 cm thick, 30 cm width and 50 cm length and a square cutting board with the size over 5 cm thick and 30 cm length onward (by keeping the width and reducing the length of square chopping board) are prohibited for export.
4. Every category of planted wood (round wood) with over 12 cm diameter such as eucalyptus and acacia are prohibited for export, apart from stating in bullet 10 of I: Eligible List of Wooden Products for Export.
5. All category of black charcoals are produced or burned from any wood (except mai tew) operated by entrepreneurs or households which are different from the white charcoal and briquette and pellet charcoals made from sawdust. All category of black charcoals are prohibited for export.
6. Truck body joinery is the product with specific size such as wooden beams, flooring, wall penal that are similar to wood for construction. Truck body joinery could be sawn wood, semi products or finished products that are prohibited for export.
7. All types and styles of coffins made from different timber species either finished or unfinished being able to assemble as one set or knock-down are prohibited for export.
8. Balustrades, stair rail, laminated stair rail have been gone through the production process of edging, shaping, cutting, incubating, joining, sizing, shaping, mortising, sanding, etc. Either semi products or finished products are prohibited for export.

III. Picture Illustrations               

Apart from the explanation in the List of Eligible and Prohibited Wooden Products for Export, there are also picture illustrations for better understanding and easy implementation as well as correctness. Some types and styles of wooden products are not easy to explain or provide meanings, therefore, the picture illustrations in appendix 1 and 2 of this decision on the List of Eligible and Prohibited Wooden Products for Export of Minister of Industry and Commerce No. 1833/MOIC, dated 03 October 2016 attached.

Director General
[Seal and Signature]

Manohak Rasachak