Safe passage: Mexican and U.S. exporters face a new regulation on wood packaging materials.

IN SIX MONTHS, a mark on wood packaging materials will determine whether or not cargo can cross the Mexico-U.S. border. But it won't be just a sign: It will be proof that the wood isn't carrying any of the countless plagues that travel around the globe in wood packaging materials.

The mark is the result of an international environmental norm designed to reduce the presence of pests that travel between nations.

"Between 70 and 90 percent of natural plagues and sicknesses that affect forests and agricultural crops are associated with wooden packaging," explained Francisco Garcia, general director of Mexico's department of Land and Forestry Management (Semarnat).

Mexico, the United States and Canada, who agreed to coordinate the date of its enforcement, adopted the norm last year. In Mexico, the norm is referred to as 144-Semarnat-2004 (NOM-144).

The norm requires that all wooden packaging material--from pallets, skids, reels and drums to crates, boxes and load boards--goes through a sterilization process to guarantee it pest-free. After being treated by either heat or methyl bromide fumigation procedures, the wooden materials are then stamped with a 'quality/treatment mark,' which ensures its safe passage across the borders of countries with similar regulations.

The European Union, in 2001, was the first to establish regulations of wood packaging materials. Since then, the norm has been adopted by the International Plant Protection Convention, a treaty to promote measures for pest control across borders. The international standard has spawned regulations around the world, including countries such as Australia, Egypt, Korea and much of South America. Most of its legal offshoots are monolithic, requiring heat or chemical treatment of nearly all wood packaging products. While specific governments enforce individual countries' norms, they are supported by many international environmental organizations.

One such organization is the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). Under NAPPO's auspices, Mexico, the U.S. and Canada struck an accord to adopt their own regulations. Designs were in place for the tract to be actualized on September 16, but the day before its purported implementation, the three countries officially extended its enforcement.

Rather than going full-force in September, the regulations will be phased in throughout North America over the next six months. The first step is in place right now: Companies shipping cargo packaged in wood unmarked by the NAPPO seal will be advised to comply, but will face no financial consequences. Phase two begins in mid-February. Inspection officers will reject crates and pallets that bear no mark at the border as of February 1, 2006.

A February 1 implementation date may not be firm in Mexico, though. According to Jose Antonio Rodriguez, president of the Mexican Institute of Packaging and Crating Professionals (Instituto Mexicano de Profesionales en Envase y Embalaje), "I think that at the end of February, the rules and regulations will go into effect in a light manner, under visual inspection."

CERTIFIED COMPANIES

According to Semarnat officials, the agency already authorized 312 companies in 26 states across Mexico to process the wood treatment and apply the government-approved mark on wood products. Such businesses have the capacity to treat 2.5 million pallets each month. Between the certified companies, the exportation industry should, by Semarnat's estimations, be well prepared for the legislation within the allotted time frame.

With 14 facilities in Mexico, including wood packaging facilities around Juarez, International Outsourcing Services (IOS) is one of the businesses affected by the new legislation. Foreseeing the impact of the new regulations on their wood packaging plants, IOS opened up a new facility to meet the demands of maquiladoras looking to ensure the safe transport of their products across the border. Currently, their production is up to 140,000 pallets a month.

"We geared up on our production to meet the [September 16] deadline, and lots of customers scurried around," said Albert Lanza, executive vice president of Laborgistics at IOS. "This extra time is really for people who aren't prepared, to allow them to become prepared."

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Like 92 percent of approved packaging facilities in Mexico, IOS uses heat treatment. A mere 8 percent of such facilities utilizes methyl bromide, a process that the Mexican government has cautioned against due to the chemical process' environmental repercussions.

Few would argue that North America's wildlife is not worth protecting. Though its results will affect far more than just the agriculture and wildlife it protects, NOM-144 stands to decrease the pests that would menace our environment. Its imminent implementation is a much-needed hassle for the export industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

* Semarnat

www.semarnat.gob.mx

* Mexican Institute of Packaging and Crating Professionals (Instituto Mexicano de Profesionales en Envase y Embalaje)

www.envaseyembalaje.com.mx

* International Outsourcing Services (IOS)

www.iosnet.com

RELATED ARTICLE: The content of the mark

-The letters IPPC indicate International Phytosanitary Protection Convention.

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-MX identifies Mexico, in the case of wood packaging and wrapping used in exportations from Mexico.

-The following characters (XXX) are exclusive to the person authorized to use the mark.

-The XX will be an abbreviation of the phytosanitary treatments, either HT (heat treatment) or MB (methyl bromide).

-The final characters (AAA) identify the authorized person and treatment application date.