The Global Legal & Sustainable Timber Forum 2023 enriched Macau’s role as a MICE hub for green innovation and sustainability and as a platform bringing together producers, exporters, and buyers.
The state of Mato Grosso in Brazil is the top supplier of native wood in Brazil, which is the world’s largest exporter of tropical timber. For the Centre of Production Industries and Wood Exporters from the State of Mato Grosso (CIPEM), an entity that brings together the region’s timber industry, boosting trading ties with China, already a key market for them, is a must. And Macau emerged as an ideal platform as the SAR hosted the first Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum 2023 (GLSTF 2023) on November 21 and 22.
The event, which was co-hosted by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) and coordinated by the Secretariat of the Global Green Supply Chains Initiative (GGSC), attracted 700 guests from 36 countries and regions. Under the theme “Connect, Cooperate, and Share to Promote the Recovery of the Global Tropical Timber Market,” GLSTF 2023 is closely aligned with the global trend of green, low-carbon, and sustainable development, in line with China’s national development policy of ecological civilization construction.
Brazil’s leading value
“This Forum in Macau is an excellent initiative,” stressed Ednei Blasius, president of CIPEM, adding that “it serves as an important platform to promote dialogue and business between producing and consuming countries,” posing “great opportunities for us in Mato Gross, Brazil, to showcase our unique value of our fully sustainable, renewable, and traceable wood.”
“This Forum serves as an important platform to promote dialogue and business between producing and consuming countries” – Ednei Blasius, president of CIPEM (Mato Grosso, Brazil)
China, the largest timber consumer, is already a key trading partner for the Mato Grosso timber and wood sector, but it can become their number one market in the foreseeable future.
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Frank Almeida, forest business specialist and president of Brazil’s National Forum of Forest-Based Activities, also explained that GLSTF, which also included an exhibition area, served as a useful and important mechanism. “We already have business ties here, but we want to expand and understand the market’s needs so we can fine-tune our products and better serve our clients,” he said.
Mr. Almeida added, “China is not yet our top export market, but we are confident it will become our number one partner in the coming years.”
From Foshan to the World
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) is indeed a thriving market for the timber industry. Several representatives and companies hailing from Guangdong province seized this opportunity to connect with major wood suppliers. Within the GBA, the city of Foshan is known as the “furniture capital of the world,” with numerous large-scale furniture shopping malls and woodworking machinery factories. One of the Foshan-based companies joining GLSTF was JXCAT.com, an online platform that connects producers, exporters, and buyers of timber, wood, furniture equipment, and woodwork machinery. Randy Wong, founder and general manager of JXCAT.com, was upbeat about being in Macau at GLSTF. “I think Macau is the best choice for a forum of this kind, as it is a bridge to easily connect mainland China and international markets.”
“I think Macau is the best choice for a forum of this kind, as it is a bridge to easily connect mainland China and international markets” – Randy Wong, general manager of Foshan-based JXCAT.com platform
The event was thus another example of the Macau SAR’s role as a platform between China, the Portuguese-speaking Countries, and other partners, bringing together China, the world’s largest timber consumer and the top exporter of tropical timber, Brazil, alongside representatives and businesspeople from other major producing and exporting markets such as Cameroon, Gabon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Congo, and Thailand, among others.
Macau, the perfect partner
For ITTO, co-organiser of GLSTF 2023, Macau emerged as the “perfect partner” for this event. “As Macau has a policy of growing external cooperation, we saw that we were perfect partners,” said Sheam Satkuru, Executive Directorof ITTO, an international organisation comprising a total of 75 producing and consuming member countries.
She added that “not only do we have important wood importers here in Macau, but the city is next to Guangdong province which has some of the world’s largest ports for wood resource imports.”
“As Macau has a policy of growing external cooperation, we saw that we were perfect partners” – Sheam Satkuru, Executive Director of ITTO
Executive Director of IPIM Sam Lei underlined that GLSTF 2023 has contributed to the development of Macau’s MICE industry, boosted the integration of sustainable development and the MICE industry, and played an active role in guiding Macau’s green, diversified, and international development.
Luo Xinjian, Secretary-General of GGSC, also pointed out that Macau boasts advanced MICE facilities and an attractive cultural environment, making it an ideal place for large-scale international events.
In addition to a wide range of panels and business matching sessions that paved the way for business opportunities, major international collaborative research projects were released for the first time during the GLSTF 2023. These included About the Construction of the Global Timber Industry Index Platform” and “Research on the Collaborative Operations of the Blockchain-Based Timber Traceability System, collaborative projects between ITTO and universities and research institutes in Macau, which will help cultivate professionals in related fields in the SAR.
