Brazilian foresting

Foresting in Brazil

Brazil has the world's second largest forest area, with a total of 497.90 million hectares (ha) of forest (58.47% of its territory), which is more than 10 times the entire land area of ​​Sweden (41 million ha). Of this area, 98% or 488.06 million hectares are occupied by natural forests, while only 9.83 million hectares correspond to planted forests (SFB, 2019).

But even seen small in relations to the natural forest, the Brazilian forest-based sector is a world leader in wood productivity (wood volume per unit area) (Figure 1 below). Among the most important commodities in the forest sector, we have pulp and paper, wood panels and sawn wood.

Despite the negative development of economic activity in various industrial segments, development in the Brazilian forest-based sector has been strong in a long-term perspective. The pulp and paper segments are currently standing out in terms of positive expectations, just as on the global market. It is no secret that the forestry sector faces the challenge of intensifying its production to meet the growing demand for fiber, wood, energy and several other new applications - many part of the green transition to substitute plastics and fossil.

Responding to increased demand in a sustainable way is where eucalyptus plantations play an important role for the Brazilian forest market. With its fast growth and ability to bind carbon dioxide, well managed eucalyptus plantations will also play an important role in the green transition.