Brazilian Eucalyptus Pulp & Paper Think Tank meets in Sao Paulo

ABTCP-PI 2009 takes off!

The 42nd International Congress & Exhibition on Cellulose Pulp & Paper (ABTCP-PI 2009), organized by the Brazilian Technical Association for Cellulose Pulp & Paper was launched in Sao Paulo on Monday. Key persons within the industry gather at this meeting point to share their latest information and research results. In addition, a wonderful set up of exhibitors have filled up the Exhibition Fair Area, displaying their products and services to an audience that will reach several thousands.

Fig. 1: Debate at the ABTCP-PI 2009 Technical Sessions

Eucalyptologics has the privilege to observe and report from the Technical Sessions, which is indeed a great place to see how the big fishes in the P&P pond report their findings and predictions for future trends.

Crisis Impacts on the Global Pulp & Paper Industry

Carlos Farinha, senior vice-president Pöyry, outlined the current status and predicted the evolution of and future tendencies for the global Pulp & Paper market after the impact of the Global Crisis. Key points, predictions for increasing overall demand up to at least 2025 to possibly go beyond the 525 Million ton paper / year, and different impacts and tendency for each regional market. The Crisis impacted greatly the newsprint paper segments, but tissue and printing paper remained afloat. China became the main market for Brazilian Kraft Eucalyptus pulp during 2009, while exports to Europe fell sharply. Carlos also outlined that while the European Union, the USA and Japan will drive just a small piece of the future demand growth rate cake, current demand growth rates point to China, India & Russia as the main future markets we should look at for expansion.

Fig. 2: Jaako Pöyry's stand at ABTCP-PI 2009 Exhibition Area

Another important point for those growing eucalypts, or for those against growing eucalypts, Bleached Hardwood Kraft Pulp (so, one of the main products from planted Eucalyptus forests) is predicted to jump from 60 to 85% over the total sources for printing paper manufacture by 2025, and from 60 to 75% for tissue. Which means that in some years, less than 0.5% of the world's available land will be able to supply most of the raw renewable, recyclable and sustainable resource as to sustain the production of the huge majority of printing and tissue paper consumption around the world. And, mostly, without using dangerous chlorine chemicals for bleaching. No doubt, good news for those misguided to think that using paper equals to chopping trees and destroying native forests, or those misguided to believe some of the most dangerous toxins are still generated by the P&P routine.

Crisis Impacts on the European & Brazilian Pulp & Paper Industry

Kurt Brandauer, executive vice-president VOITHPaper GmbH & Co. KG, described the impacts of the crisis in Europe, which meant a sharp decline of demand reaching even a 25% decrease for some paper segments. and outlined that while countries as China are implementing major "close down" policies for their smaller factories, Europe is closing down big ones too. In the first case, it is a modernization effort to get rid of "many, small, pollutant, suboptimal" industrial complexes processing several sources of cellulose and replace them by "fewer, less pollutant, larger, more efficient, more profitable" factories processing fiber from sustainable fast growing plantations. For Europe it is however a response for non satisfactory financial productivity in the global scenario, plus a strong social pressure for increasing recycled paper use. Fiber is cheaper to produce and process elsewhere. And can be recycled later if needed.

Fig. 3: VOITH Paper stand at the ABTCP-PI 2009 Exhibition area.

Elizabeth de Carvalhaes, President of BRACELPA, outlined the impacts of the crisis for Brazil. Brazilian pulp exports kept growing steadily, driven by Chinese imports to a new record. But this happened as pulp prices fell sharply from a peak of nearly 800 US$ per ton by November 2008 to a low of 485 US$ per ton by April 2009. Cheap, very good, high quality certified Brazilian ECF Eucalyptus pulp for high quality paper... plus at least 300 million Chinese citizens increasing their paper consumption rates as their living standards improve... who can resist? After a wise SWAT analysis, key point: Brazilian industry captures 3 ton of CO2 for each ton emitted. That, considering they are leading the world for Eucalyptus plantation area and planting rate, means a growing sizeable bargaining power for carbon market negotiations.

Crisis Impacts on the Asian & Australasian Pulp & Paper Industry

Kunitawa Toyofuku san, executive director Japan TAPPI, outlined the great efforts taken by Japan to become one of the top users of recycled paper in the world, reaching 75% of total internal demand, and the great efforts to reduce the basic weight for newsprint paper, half by surface unit than it was 30 years ago. The sharp increase of Chinese imports of Japanese waste paper (special commodity for Sino-Japanese trade) during 2009 was also a key point: even more fiber to feed the giant panda. Japan warned about the impact of future surging demand that may rise from China as per capita paper consumption rates increase with time, and how while Japanese paper production remained nearly estabilized in the last decade, China has trebled them in few years, and it is predicted to keep increasing. An outline of Japanese investments in fast growing plantations around the world (cheers to Australia & New Zealand, among other Eucalyptus planters) was also given.

Fig. 4: Did you think Eucalyptus cellulosic ethanol bio-refineries do not exist?

Finally, Paulo Sérgio Peres, President of ABPO, outlined the importance of corrugated paper for packaging in the world markets (90 Million ton per year), and how, again, current growth is lead by Asia, where China has already surpassed the USA as world leading producer. In addition, he perfectly explained why packaging paper is a very good indicator to follow the evolution of crisis: while food packaging use remains almost constant (we all have to eat, crisis or not) all other packaging is directly linked to final consumer habits. And that means the very scary sharp decline to unheard of levels by December 2008, meaning a nearly paralyzed import-export process for three months while the worst of the financial bubble exploded and panic spread all over the world... is not just over. Packaging paper consumption rates have already recovered and are approaching new historical maximums. That means, your and my consumer habits are recovered, and the flux of money is surely helping the world economy recover. If I was you, I would invest some in fast growing tree planting. The trees kept growing while the crisis was at its peak (or low, depends on perspective!).

And what else?

Eucalyptologics was also a honest witness of the efforts of Brazilian P&P industry to reduce its environmental impact footprint: new technologies were presented to improve the treatment of Kraft pulp mill effluents and to reduce the amount of bio-solids produced as residues of industrial activity (pulp and paper, but also other industrial cycles). In addition, monitoring plans and infrastructures to follow water and air pollution trends were also kindly presented. Not very good news for those making noise about the "guilty pollutant chemical industries" in the pulp and paper segments. The industry is not just aiming at complying with law and regulations: it is aiming at "zero residue policies" where possible.

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© 2007-2009 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

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Eucalyptus Cultivation - by Edmundo Navarro de Andrade

Navarro de Andrade's Classical Works, Digitalized!

Do you remember Eucalyptus Paulistana, the Brazilian Giant? If Eucalyptus do exist today as a worldwide commercial timber crop, it is to a great extent thanks to the successful efforts of Edmundo Navarro de Andrade. Pioneer of their silviculture and industrial use, his magnificent work left many footprints. Among them, some of the first books on practical eucalypt cultivation. These classics, scarce and rare books today, have been digitalized thanks to the efforts of Celso Foelkel (ABTCP) and Luiz Ernesto George Barrichelo (IPEF) as a memorial to Navarro on the 100th anniversary of his first book. From Eucalyptologics we will also be sharing them with you, in several installments. Today, Edmundo's first work, "Eucalyptus Cultivation" in its first (1909) and second edition (1918).

Edmundo Navarro de Andrade (1909). A cultura dos Eucalyptus

Typographia Brazil de Rothschild & Comp.154 pp.

[Download PDF - 36.1 MB - Digitalization courtesy Celso Foelkel & L.E.G. Barrichelo]

Edmundo Navarro de Andrade & Octavio Vecchi (1918). Os Eucalyptus: súa Cultura e Exploraçao

Typographia Brazil de Rothschild & Comp. 238 pp.

[Download PDF - 62.0 MB - Digitalization courtesy Celso Foelkel & L.E.G. Barrichelo]

You can also find interesting...

Navarro de Andrade, the Eucalyptus Planter

by Augusto Jerónimo Martini

Eucalyptus Paulistana or... The man who planted 24 million Eucalyptus...

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Breakfast in Sao Paulo...

So Eucalyptologics in the end left Buenos Aires for Sao Paulo

And nothing better than exotic Brazilian fruits and one of the best coffees in the world...

To gather energies for the Pulp & Paper event of the year...

Where we will be taking a peek at the latest evolutions of the global pulp & paper markets in this Year II of the Crisis

Learning of the latest technologic advances for one of the most dynamic forestry industries in the world

And establishing the always necessary bonds of friendship between fellow countries

Stay tuned!

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© 2007-2009 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

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Brazilian TV features the Global Eucalyptus Map 2009

Brazil: World Leading Eucalyptus Planter

Paulo Cardoso, covering the XIII World Forestry Congress for Painel Florestal, the leading media specialized in agricultural and forestry matters, approached us at Eucalyptologics for an interview related to the Global Eucalyptus Map 2009 displayed at the Exhibition Area here. So there you can see yours truly blabbering about hectares of tree plantations here and there.

If wondering, the wooden wall the map is displayed on is nothing else than Argentinean grown Eucalyptus grandis solidwood coming from Entre Ríos Province courtesy of Ing. Martín Sánchez Acosta - INTA Concordia . That wonderful eucalypt timber, like Euroglobulus, is very suitable for panels like these and a million other high value uses.

This video is a courtesy of Painel Florestal TV (Youtube)

The official media partner for Brazilian Timber Industry

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© 2007-2009 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

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WFC2009: the two faces of Forestry - 10 images, 10 comments

While some waste their time... and yours...

Others do the real work instead of carnivals...
but do not make it to the mainstream papers

Fig. 1: Assessment of large scale farming investment impact on forests and people. Discussion forum.

Fig. 2: Exhibition area contains over 65 stands from countries, provinces, governmental and non governmental agencies and organizations, specialized media and companies displaying the latest information resources on forests and forestry to over 6700 visitors

Fig. 3: Maurice Closs, Governor of Misiones Province (key forestry region of Argentina) plus several other key speakers address the need of a new National Forestry Strategy, with a stabilized long term agenda, able to help Argentina join the forestry investment race in South America currently yielding increased economic growth to its neighbours to the East and West.

Fig. 4: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: late statistics, key contact persons and information available to Congress attendees. FAO has helped organize events like these each six years, in order to put together the key people around the world with a stake into forestry in general, forestry planning and policy in particular, and the "look into the future we can make together" spirit.

Fig. 5: Press Conference - Commenting Conclusions to the "Forests and Bio-Energy" and "Forests and Climate Change" forums, which gathered a continued physical audience of over 1,500 persons for more than 12 hours . In addition, an average of 1,500 and peaks of 3,000 persons followed the forums live online thanks to Painel Florestal.

Fig. 6: Example of a Country Stand: Chile. Here the main governmental agencies related to forests and forestry, as INFOR - Instituto Forestal, or CONAF - Corporación Nacional Forestal have a meeting point with foresters, forest scientists, investors, clients, students...

Fig. 7: Example of wooden exhibitionism : A giant Argentinian Red Cedar log (Cedrela lilloi) from Jujuy Province, one of the finest timbers in the world.

Fig. 8: Example of a Governmental Forestry Agency Stand - the CONAFOR, Comisión Nacional Forestal, Mexico.

Fig. 9: "Forests are Us" Stand. A USA initiative to spread knowledge on forestry programmes and future events to take place soon in the United States.

Fig. 10: Press Room, where Valeria Degreef, Verónica Korcsog and the whole team of Nuevos Vientos do magic to keep the information flow running everyday, helping all independent press do their duty too.

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© 2007-2009 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

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WFC2009 - Planted Forests Session: Debunking Myths

So did you hear timber plantations are at least a concerning issue?

Key general data were presented by Rubens Garlipp (SBS, Brazil) showing some of the usually known but also many of the "lesser known facts" about plantation forestry, some of which we share below:

Did you know that a 24% of total tree plantation area worldwide is not there for a productive function... but as protective and/or restoration action for previously damaged ecosystems? Think of that each time you hear plantations are not forests and equal to "green deserts".

Did you know that only a 17% of total plantation area worldwide is held by corporate forestry firms and the de-centralization process keeps increasing in such a way that public governmental agencies and private non corporate investors are the big majority? There are many fishes in the wooden pool! Think of that each time you read that plantations are equal to trans-national corporations, and hence guilty of all imaginable sins.

Did you know that all cultivated forests worldwide together account just around 1% of total available land... but they yield some 40% of the yearly wood output for human use... and 70% of the global industrial demand of roundwood? Think of that each time you read that plantations do not contribute to relieve pressure on timber harvest of natural forests.

Did you know that it takes 100 to 200 times less energy to produce a ton of timber in a forestry plantation than manufacturing a ton of other building materials, as metal or concrete? A ton of timber is always better than none. Think of that each time you read that timber products non certified by "the writer's favourite certification scheme" equal bad consumer habits.

Did you know that simply to meet future demand caused by increasing population and improving living standards in several countries around the world we will need to harvest at least 5,000 Million cubic meters of industrial timber per year from 2020 on? Think of that each time you hear the noisy speech of "anti-plantation" demagogy.

Later Fred Cubbage (NCSU, Raleigh, USA) reviewed key macro-economic data for different fast growth timber types in different geographic scenarios. The highest IRR for tree plantations are achieved in Brazil (E. grandis, 25% IRR, aka TIR), but similar figures apply to E. globulus in Uruguay (23%), E. grandis in Paraguay (21%), Tectona grandis (teak) in Venezuela (21%); Pinus taeda in Brazil (21%) or E. grandis in Argentina (20%). This shows well managed eucalypt plantations based on good genetics and cultivated under technical supervision are one of the most attractive options for environmentally friendly investment in primary resources. But potential for profit is not all. Risk management is very important. That's the reason you won't stop investing in New Zealand's Radiata Pine or Southern USA P. taeda plantations, even if IRR is "just" around 8%. Because it is unlikely that a war, lack of political stability or lack of market transparency can affect your long term investments in such scenarios.

Third, Brad Sanders (April) described an example of plantation forestry in Sumatra (Indonesia) designed at a landscape level: 485,000 hectares (and increasing) of mosaic fiber plantations of fast growing Acacia mangium (45 m3/ha/ano) and A. crassiocarpa (36 m3/ha/ano). and a 140 million plant/per year capacity forestry nursery. Developed with the involvement of local inhabitants, who join the project freely (nothing happening without their prior and informed consent) benefits are not just financial, also social (35 jobs each 100 hectares) and environmental (48 ton per hectare per year of sequestered CO2).

Finally, Héctor from Costa Rica explained the results of public forestry plantation investments in the last 30 years: 150,000 hectares of timber plantations; 38,000 of them small growers combining agricultural and forestry uses in agro-silvicultural systems; quality timbers as Tectona grandis & Gmelina arborea, plus others. This means 75% of wood demand in the country can be supplied from planted forests, without affecting native forests. Still, to sustain this environmentally friendly strategy, further investment is needed.

And we also found in Buenos Aires...

Here you can see Brazil (Celso Foelkel), Spain (yours truly) and Argentina (Daniel Maradei) happily talking on eucalypt uses... just in front of a 100% Eucalyptus solid wood built Exhibition Stand... belonging to Entre Ríos Province in Argentina. We will show you what is inside that great place with our good friend Martín Sánchez Acosta... in the next installment!

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© 2007-2009 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

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