Meeting with representatives of Ministry of Commerce and Industry


On 19th May 2017, representatives from NCCF held a meeting at New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Shri Sudhanshu Pandey, Joint Secretary, DoC to seek nomination of a representative from Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The meeting was titled “Introduction of Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF) standard setting body”. NCCF had earlier submitted a draft policy paper on “Promoting sustainable trade of wood and wood-based products in India”.


Shri Sudhanshu Pandey Joint Secretary, DoC chairing the meeting with NCCF representatives and other invitees

The presentation highlighted that the objectives of NCCF to develop certification system, provide link between responsible production and responsible consumption of forest products, to promote responsible trade in forestry sector and bridge the gap between policy makers and practitioners on issue of forest management. The various components of Forest Certification and the standard development process were explained, data on wood products and import of logs vs. non-logs was also highlighted concluding that value creation is declining. The chair highlighted the importance of responsible trade free and traceability in forest-based industry and sought clarifications on a few topics, which NCCF had responded to.

Other than representatives of Department of Commerce and NCCF, the meeting was attended by representatives from Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmer Welfare, Centre of WTO Studies, IIFT, BIS and NABCB. Later, the Ministry of Commerce nominated their representative in the NCCF ongoing activities.