Naujienos
2005 - 02 - 18
*Nordic forest industry will meet stiffer competition
In the course of the coming few years Nordic 
forest industry will meet stiffer competition from new countries entering the market. Brazil and Russia, above others, are expected to exert pressure on Swedish and Finnish producers.
That is the opinion of Mr Björn Hägglund, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the big forest company Stora Enso.
Demand for paper, cardboard, pasteboard and other paper products will grow strongly in the coming 15 years. This growth is due to increased consumption in many countries, mainly in China.
This may sound promising for the Nordic forest industry, but Björn Hägglund believes that other countries will conquer most of the new markets.
New competitors
He says that the wood needed in China will most likely come from Eastern Russia, Latin America and South-East Asia.
Some South-American countries offer the best opportunities for low cost wood production.
As one example he mentions Brazil where Stora Enso itself is actively promoting this development. The company has recently built one of the world's biggest pulp factories in the state of Bahia. A total of 160 000 hectares of old cultivated land around the plant has been planted with quickly growing eucalyptus trees.
The forest is extremely productive. We expect the investment to be very profitable, he says.
Quality is decisive
Hägglund maintains that also environment conservation is a winner in the project. The remaining one third of the company's land will be used for establishing a nature reserve. Natural vegetation that grew in the area before agriculture will be allowed to re-conquer its previous habitat.
Hägglund is of the opinion that many similar projects will be initiated in new producer countries during the coming decades. The cost for producing pulp and paper will probably be 15 % less than in the Nordic countries. So what shall we do here up north?
Our opportunity is to produce high quality products at the lowest possible cost, for example some cardboard qualities and fine newsprint. It is also important that our energy costs remain on a low level, says Hägglund. (TT)
forest industry will meet stiffer competition from new countries entering the market. Brazil and Russia, above others, are expected to exert pressure on Swedish and Finnish producers.That is the opinion of Mr Björn Hägglund, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the big forest company Stora Enso.
Demand for paper, cardboard, pasteboard and other paper products will grow strongly in the coming 15 years. This growth is due to increased consumption in many countries, mainly in China.
This may sound promising for the Nordic forest industry, but Björn Hägglund believes that other countries will conquer most of the new markets.
New competitors
He says that the wood needed in China will most likely come from Eastern Russia, Latin America and South-East Asia.
Some South-American countries offer the best opportunities for low cost wood production.
As one example he mentions Brazil where Stora Enso itself is actively promoting this development. The company has recently built one of the world's biggest pulp factories in the state of Bahia. A total of 160 000 hectares of old cultivated land around the plant has been planted with quickly growing eucalyptus trees.
The forest is extremely productive. We expect the investment to be very profitable, he says.
Quality is decisive
Hägglund maintains that also environment conservation is a winner in the project. The remaining one third of the company's land will be used for establishing a nature reserve. Natural vegetation that grew in the area before agriculture will be allowed to re-conquer its previous habitat.
Hägglund is of the opinion that many similar projects will be initiated in new producer countries during the coming decades. The cost for producing pulp and paper will probably be 15 % less than in the Nordic countries. So what shall we do here up north?
Our opportunity is to produce high quality products at the lowest possible cost, for example some cardboard qualities and fine newsprint. It is also important that our energy costs remain on a low level, says Hägglund. (TT)
