The Portuguese paper
industry holds some myths, frequently advertised by some opinion makers. Are such
myths real?
1.
The weight of the paper industry
in the national economy and, in particular, in the exports, has been the most common
belief lately.
If, on one hand, it
highlights the contribution of the paper industry in the economy, on the other
there is a sharp decrease in the weight of all the forest-based industries in
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - which was already in decline over the last
decade. The weight of the forest-based industries in GDP was 2.2% in 2000 and
in 2010 it was only 1.3%. The advertised weight of 3.0% of GDP in the forest
sector (forest + forest-based industries) for 2000 is reduced in 2010 for only
1.8%.
The importance of the forest-based
industry in the exports gross value corresponds to the increased weight of
imports of wood. Part of those Imports comes from countries with dubious
management rules on their natural resources.
The
increase of business profitability on the forest-based industry has been joined
by a sharp decline in the forestry business; with the business risk transfer to
hundreds of thousands of private forest owners engaged in the roundwood
production (families and rural communities hold 92% of the forest areas in
Portugal, 60% of farms have less than 5 hectares). At the end of the chain, the
risk is supported by the Society. The lack of business expectations in the
forests leads to the absence of forest management. The absence of forest
management has serious consequences on forest fires, with devastating effects
on the statistics of burned forest areas. The Society annually supports high
economic costs and huge environmental and social impacts caused by forest fires
in Portugal.
Currently, the domestic pulp
and paper industry has a very poor auto supplying capacity; rounding 20% (around
16% is Group Portucel Soporcel).
The presence of the pulp
and paper industry in the forest (the area of greatest business risk) is continuously
decreasing. Only in the last decade eucalyptus areas held by the pulp and paper
industry decreased more than 34 000 hectares. There seems to be a progressive
disinvestment in the forest and, consequently, a business risk transfer to the
hundreds of thousands of families that contribute to supply this industry.
2.
The excellence management awards are another myth.
For this
“excellence” in management evaluation, the unilateral imposition of the roundwood
prices to the forest owners has been contributed greatly. Such imposition by
the pulp and paper industry is protected by the State, in complete
contradiction to the principles of equity and healthy functioning of the markets.
The luxury of cogeneration profits, guaranteed
by the State, has constituted a favorable factor to a good performance management
result.
It’s also important to
notice that, in 2010 and 2011, Portucel achieved extraordinary overall revenues
of about 50 million Euros, generated by tax benefits granted by the State.
3.
The performance in innovation.
The area of eucalyptus in
Portugal has increased ten times in the last 50 years (currently the
fifth largest in the world), but the national average productivity is the same
today as it was previously registered in 1928. The pulp and paper industry had
invested in R&D in the past, but currently it has almost abandoned this
area, focusing on the quantity instead of quality. However, the risks of quantity
production have been assumed by the Society.
After all, everything
suggests that the myths associated to the pulp and paper industry in Portugal
are nothing but myths. In fact, successive governments have protected the
economic interests of shareholders, and its headquarters fiscally addressed in
the Netherlands. This state protection is performed on the detriment of
families, forests and Territory.
Surely, this is not the
type of investment and unsustainable extraction Acréscimo advocates for forest
areas and the forest-based industry in Portugal.
Acréscimo is a
non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable and socially
responsible forest investment. The association is seriously concerned about the
high risk of forest fires related to this investment as well as the
responsibilities of forest-based industry in promoting this risk (with the complicity
of the state) besides a healthy and competitive functioning of markets.
The quality of your articles and contents is great.Paper industry growth
ReplyDelete