In the last 10 years, Brazilian industries of paper and pulp invested US$ 12 billion in expanding the production capacity. These investments transformed the country in the greatest producer of short-fibre pulp in the world.
In the last 15 years, the sector tripled its exports, going from just over US$ 1 billion in 1990 to US$ 3.4 billion in 2005.
The information released during the ExpocelpaSul, seminar and exhibit on pulp and paper of the Southern region of Brazil, which ended Thursday, June 22, at the Integrated Center of Workers and Businessmen of the state of Paraná (Cietep), in the state’s capital city Curitiba.
The greatest event in the sector in the region, this year it counted on 40 exhibitors, who presented their solutions in machinery, equipments, chemical products, logistics systems, engineering, consulting and quality control services, amongst other things.
In this second edition, ExpocelpaSul was focused in the segments of packaging and tissue (sanitary) paper. The event is a joint promotion of the Brazilian Technical Association of Paper and Pulp (ABTCP) and the Center for Technology in Paper and Pulp (Cetcep) of the National Service of Industrial Education (Senai), based in the Paraná city of Telêmaco Borba. The Senai Cetcep is considered a national and international reference in the sector.
Qualification
The international director at the ABTCP, Celso Foelkel, highlighted that Brazil has today highly qualified professionals to act in the sector, which expands national competence in the field.
The country is the 7th greatest producer pulp of all kinds in the world and the 11th of paper. In 2005, national production reached 10.1 million tons of pulp and 8.6 million tons of paper, which meant an increase of 5.3% and 1.7%, respectively, over 2004.
In the first quarter of the year, the manufacturers registered a high of 8.8% in pulp production, which increased to 2.6 million tons. The production of paper, in turn, reached 2.16 million tons, registering a high of 2.1%.
The Brazilian paper and pulp sector is made up by 220 companies, out of which 35 are regular exporters. Brazilian production is manufactured, exclusively, from wood of planted forests (eucalyptus and pine). The sector generates about 108,000 direct jobs.
The state of Paraná is the greatest paper and pulp producer in the Southern region and the second greatest in country. In 2004, the state was responsible for about 1.6 million tons of paper and 740,000 tons of pulp.
Paraná loses only to São Paulo, which has an annual production of 3.5 million tons and 2.6 million tons, respectively.
Omar Nasser works for Fiep, the Federation of Industries of the State of Paraná.