Exports of Southland eucalyptus woodchips have according to the Southland Times doubled in the past two years and the wood is on the way to becoming the region’s main timber export. South Port chief executive Mark O’Connor said the volume of chips heading to Japan had climbed from 100,000 tonnes to more than 200,000 tonnes in two years, with the potential to climb beyond 250,000 tonnes.
BEDFORD, MA, Aug. 8, 2011 (RISI) - As European countries push forward to meet renewable energy goals of 20% by 2020, demand for imported biomass -- specifically, wood pellets -- will rise. Commercial scale pellet manufacturing is growing quickly in North America to meet this demand, especially in the southeastern USA.
For most of the past 20 years, pulp mills in Western Canada have had lower wood fiber costs than pulp mills in the Eastern provinces. In fact, one year ago, pulp manufacturers in British Columbia paid almost C$60/odmt (Oven Dry Metric Tonne) less for softwood chips than did pulp mills in Ontario and Quebec, and five years ago the difference was almost C$100/odmt, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.
Graz, Austria, Jul 18, 2011 - International technology Group ANDRITZ has acquired Iggesund Tools International AB, headquartered in Iggesund, Sweden, including its subsidiaries in the USA, Canada, and other countries. The acquired companies have approximately 160 employees and generate annual sales of about 25 MEUR. It was agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the wood flows from smallholder plantations to industrial buyers in the Binh Dinh and Phu Tho provinces of Vietnam. It describes the actors involved in the market chains, their respective roles, the value added to the wood in the market chain and the distribution of costs and benefits. Various differences between the two provinces exist. In Binh Dinh, wood flows are relatively direct and the market price information is transparent. There are various end-buyers but most are buying bark-clean logs.
BRUSSELS, April 18, 2011 (RISI) - Raw material supply security is always a major concern for pulp and paper companies. It is one of the driving forces of the industry and a company's raw material procurement plan can often make the difference between success and failure.
Global trade of wood chips was up 25 percent in 2010 because of increased production of pulp and paper products worldwide. China showed the greatest growth in chip imports with an increase over 400 percent in the past two years, as reported in the WRQ.
HOUSTON, USA, Jan 5, 2011 - International energy pricing agency Argus today launched North American wood chip assessments. This expansion into US and Canadian wood chip pricing complements Argus' coverage of US wood pellet prices and its broader European biomass indexation.
"Argus understands the global significance of renewable fuels, and we are pleased to be at the forefront, providing transparency to emerging biomass markets," Argus Media chairman and chief executive, Adrian Binks said.
More than 80 million tons of wood chips, valued at almost ten billion US dollars, are traded annually in the open market worldwide and the shipment volumes are increasing. The vast majority of traded wood chips are currently utilized for pulp production, but the volumes used to generate energy are growing.
