T
he sector of planted trees is one
of the sectors that managed to
through the unfavorable Brazilian
economic period with a certain
balance. With the appreciation of
thedollar and thedrop in consumption in the
domestic market, the companies of the seg-
ment have found their way into foreign mar-
kets, especially because of the quality of the
product. Now, Brazilian cellulose is acknowl-
edged in the entire world for its excellence.
Furthermore, the Country is home to a mod-
ern industrial park, with the best tree genetic
engineering among all nations, as well as the
bestglobalproductivityofplantedforests.
In 2016, in spite of the scenario of a nation-
al crisis, the supply chain shows positive re-
sults. The Brazilian Tree Industry (Ibá) reports
that, from January to November, the balance
of trade registered a surplus of US$ 6 billion
(+2.3%). Cellulose has contributed with up-
wardsofUS$4.7billion(-0.1%),paperwithUS$
1billion(+9.7%)andwoodpanelswithUS$220
million (+29.4%). “The increase in exports of
products coming from the Brazilian sector of
plantedforestshasbeencontributingpositively
withtheresultofitsproduction”,commentsIbá
presidentElizabethdeCarvalhaes.
Over the first 11 months of the year, the
average production rate of the cellulose seg-
ment went up 8.5%, driven, in particular, by
the 11.6-percent increase in foreign sales. The
Brazilian cellulose sector exports the bulk of its
production,almost70%,andChinaisthemain
THEENVIRONMENT
Sources from the Brazilian Tree Industry have it that silviculture and the national sector of
planted trees play a fundamental role in the preservation of the environment and in the recov-
ery of areas previously degraded by human action, contributing directly towards the protection
of the natural ecosystems and their biodiversity. The executive president of the entity, Elizabeth
deCarvalhaes,believesthattheexpansionofplantedforestsandtherecoveryofdegradedareas
have the potential to indirectly contribute towards the reduction of illegal deforestation, whilst
contributing towards bigger carbon stocks. “The potential of the sector is immense: the 7.8mil-
lion hectares of planted trees represent less than 1%of the national territory, withmuch room
andchance togrowever further, inareas previouslydeterioratedbyother uses. In2015, the sec-
torwasresponsibleforrestoring45thousandhectaresofdegradedland”,sheadds.
Noteventhecrisishasstuntedthegrowthofsilviculture,
nowreapingpositiveresultsoverthefirstelevenmonthsin2016
Balance of trade registered a surplus
of US$ 6 billion (+2.3%) over the year
Woodonthe
fire
Silviculture
destination, witha shareof 37.9%(US$ 1.9bil-
lion). Paper exports went up 2.5%over the en-
tire period. In the wood panel market, exports
rose 65.2% January through November 2016,
representing an important step for shipping
abroad the products originally destined for the
domesticmarket,whichdropped3.3%.
According to Elizabeth, currently Brazil
is a reference in silviculture, but its potential
to grow has not been exhausted yet. In all,
there are 851millionhectares of forests, and
only 0.8% correspond to planted forests.
“The Brazilian forest sector has become one
ofthemostimportantintheglobalscenario,
over the past years. With an area of 7.8 mil-
lion hectares of planted forests, the sector
is responsible for 91% of all the timber pro-
duced for industrial purposes in theCountry
and presents one of the greatest contribu-
tion potential towards the construction of a
greeneconomy”,heargues.Theexpectation
is for continuing growing inorder tomeet all
consumption projections.
Until 2050, wood consumption is likely
to triple compared to the present level in the
world, reaching 10 billion cubic meters. The
countries trade about US$ 250 billion wood
products a year, and Brazil, notwithstanding
its competitive edge, has a share of only 3%.
“The expectation is for the Country to triple
its share by 2020, with projects that require
upwards of R$ 36 billion in investments, ca-
pable of generating about 8.2 million tons of
celluloseand750 thousand tonsof paper.”
PESOINCONTESTÁVEL
Undeniableweight
ParticipaçãodosetorflorestalnaBalançaComercialBrasileira(US$milhõesFOB)
Janeiro-novembro
Brasil
Participação(%)
Agronegócio
Participação(%)
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
Exportações
174.351
169.303
4,1
4,1
81.361
78.827
8,7
8,8
Importações
160.906
126.026
0,8
0,8
12.177
12.264
10,1
7,7
Saldo
13.445
43.277
69.184
66.563
Fonte:Secex/MDIC,Mapa.
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