OREANDA-NEWS. December 26, 2013. The Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine office and the State Forestry Administration (SFA) jointly issued a notice advising that China has banned the import of Fraxnus (ash) logs and sawnwood from countries and regions in which Fraxnus die-back occurs.

The countries affected are Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Belarus, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, Norway, Russia (Kaliningrad), Slovenia, Switzerland, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Croatia, Belgium, Holland, Britain, Ireland, Ukraine. Ash dieback is caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus previously known as Chalara fraxinea.

Chalara dieback has seriously affected a high percentage of ash trees in continental Europe most notably in Scandinavia (including Denmark, which has an estimated 90% of ash trees infected) and Baltic States.