S. Korea to ban import of Spanish pine tree products

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will ban the import of Spanish pine tree
products following the discovery of destructive pine wood nematodes in the
European country, the government quarantine service said Friday.
The ban is to be enforced for all products shipped after March 12 from the
provinces of Extremadura, Galicia, Adalucia and Castilla y Leon, the National
Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) said.
"The ban is a precautionary step since no imports of Spanish wood products have
been reported since 2005," said a NPQS official. He, however, said that if a
product from the country arrives in the next few days, it will be carefully
checked and undergo an extensive decontamination process.
The nematode, or Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is transmitted by sawyer beetles,
causing trees to quickly wilt and die. As there is no known treatment, all
contaminated tree are cut and incinerated.
South Korea has been fighting to contain the spread of the disease after the
first case was reported in 1988. The disease has spread to most parts of the
country and has affected more than 8,000 hectares of forests, although stringent
efforts to restrict movement of pine trees may be helping.
Local experts have warned that the spread of the wilting disease could have
serious environmental consequences, since roughly 40 percent of all trees in the
country are pine trees. Pine forests in Japan and China have been hit hard, while
the disease has also affected countries including the United States, Canada and
Portugal.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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