Taicang is to invest Rmb150m in an expansion project that will increase the port’s annual timber-handling capacity to 4.5m cubic metres, said Mr Li Rurong, general manager of Taicang International Containers Terminals.

Timber is one of the fastest-growing commodities handled by Taicang, which is one of just two ports in China licensed to import Canadian untreated timber; the other one is Xiuyu port in Fujian province.

Taicang,a Yangtze port city located in southeast Jiangsu province, has a licence to handle imported timber from some 20 countries and regions including the USA, Russia and New Zealand. It is a specially designated area for inspection, quarantine and treatment. Its volume of imported timber is expected to exceed 2m cubic metres this year.