Brasília, November 15, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Ministry of Foreign Relações has released a note on the decision by the XII conference on international commerce in threatened species to place Brazilian mahogany in Annex II of its Convention.

The note says that Brasilia is concerned that the convention could be used as a legal barrier against the entrance of Brazilian mahogany in consumer markets. "We hope that Convention monitoring and oversight procedures take into consideration the laws and regulations of exporting countries," says the note. (AB)