ITTO helps to improve forest statistics in China

A national statistical workshop was convened from April 1-3 in Haikou (Province of Hainan, China). ITTO co-sponsored the workshop with FAO and it was co-hosted by the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet). Around 40 participants took part in the workshop. 

Representatives from the State Forestry Administration of China (SFA), the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), the Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF), APFNet,  the Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui and Xinjiang provinces, the China National Forest Product Industry Association, the FAO and ITTO presented the statistical challenges on data collection, analysis and definition.
 
One of the challenges of the workshop was the estimation of roundwood and plywood production in China. The workshop was also an opportunity for important national key players in statistics collection and dissemination to discuss and resolve issues on product statistics and definitions. The workshop allowed provincial delegates to present their data collection methods and their remaining challenges in statistical dissemination and collection.
 
The third day of the workshop was the occasion for the participants to visit a plywood mill (Hongtai Wood Processing Company) and a fiberboard factory (Shengda Wood Processing Company).The Hongtai Wood processing Company produces around 5,000 m3 of plywood (mainly of eucalyptus) per year. The Shengda Wood Processing Company produces 250,000 m3 of fiberboard per year.


Presentations
The ITTO Statistical System
FAO International forest products statistics, importance and main output