By Jennifer Chang    Photo：CANVA

Wood fumigation treatment is a phytosanitary measure used to prevent harmful organisms from entering other countries or regions with packaging, protecting local plant safety and preventing the introduction of pests and diseases.

It is a biosecurity measure required by international trade standards. Materials commonly used for packaging, dunnage, bracing, and securing goods include wooden boxes, wooden crates, wooden pallets, dunnage lumber, wooden barrels, and sleepers.

In order to meet international standards, these raw wood materials need to be fumigated and marked with the IPPC mark.

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an international treaty that aims to prevent the spread of pests and diseases through the international movement of plants and plant products. The IPPC mark is an international symbol that indicates that the wood packaging material has been fumigated and meets the requirements of the IPPC.

According to the IPPC mark regulations, the mark must be clearly placed on two opposite sides of the wooden packaging to ensure easy verification and identification. In addition, the mark should be clearly drawn, not easily blurred, and applied in a permanent manner to ensure its durability. In the selection of the color of the mark, the use of red or orange should be avoided.

This is because red and orange are usually associated with emergencies or warnings, and the use of these colors may mislead people into thinking that the IPPC mark is an emergency warning, rather than a plant protection mark.

Pallets are often used in international transportation to effectively improve the efficiency of cargo handling, saving time and effort. Pallets are mainly used to protect or stack goods, and are used with forklifts or pallet jacks. Pallets are mainly divided into two types: wooden pallets and plastic pallets.

Wooden pallets have a high damage rate. Wooden pallets must be fumigated or heat treated before export to comply with the requirements of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The export procedures are complicated and easy to be harassed by foreign customs. There are even problems such as nails protruding and piercing people and cargo packaging. Therefore, more and more companies are switching to plastic pallets.

In recent years, plastic pallets have become the mainstream in the market. In addition to directly solving the risk of being pierced by nails, cleaning problems and export procedures have also become easier. When using plastic pallets to export goods, there are no special restrictions, they can be exported directly, and they are less likely to be harassed by customs.

However, the disadvantages are that plastic pallets cannot be repaired, have poor slip resistance, and cannot be customized. When exporters are evaluating what type of pallet to use, in addition to considering the price of the pallet, the weight capacity, and whether the pallet jack and forklift need to be used, they also need to evaluate the cost of subsequent pallet handling and the convenience of export.

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