Lack of Domestic Forest Resources Has Forced the Pulp Industry in India to Increasingly Rely on Hardwood Chips from Overseas for Its Wood Fiber Needs
Summary
With the lack of domestic pulpwood plantations, pulp manufacturers have for the past few years increasingly been looking overseas to South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Southeast Asia for much needed hardwood chips.The report, which was established in 1988 and has subscribers in over 30 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices, trade and market developments in most key regions around the world.To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com Seattle, WA, September 11, 2015 --( PR.com )-- India has limited domestic forest resources to supply its forest industry, and with growing domestic demand for forest products, the country’s pulp mills and sawmills have found it necessary to increase importation of wood raw-material both in the form of wood chips and logs.Over the next five years, demand for paper is expected to increase by between 2-12% annually, depending on paper grade.Over the past decade, the domestic pulp industry has steadily increased its usage of pulpwood because of higher pulp production, less usage of bamboo and because several pulp mills switched from recycled fiber to wood fiber.The share of imported wood fiber for the pulp industry accounted for almost ten percent of total consumption of wood fiber in 2014, and this share is expected to increase in the coming years.The shortage and high cost of local pulpwood in India has resulted in increased interest in sourcing wood chips from overseas despite logistical difficulties both at the ports and when transporting the chips from the ports to the pulp mills long.Importation of chips is fairly new and Indian pulpmills did not import any wood chips until 2013 when the first shipments of hardwood chips from South Africa, Australia and Thailand arrived.The report, which was established in 1988 and has subscribers in over 30 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices, trade and market developments in most key regions around the world.