Sustainable forestry

A nice video by a US paper mill, Georgia Pacific, about responsible management of the forest.

Earthquakes put pressure on pulp supply

The 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile on feb27 and 6.4-magnitude earthquake in southern Taiwan on Mar 4 have caused a tighter supply of pulp. Arauca, the second largest pulp producer in the world with a 3 million tonnes /year capacity has stopped all its mills in Chile after the quake and the tsunami that followed.

On the other hand , the tremor in Taiwan caused minor damage to Taiwan Pulp & Paper Industry in Hsinying City, in Tainan county. The mill is expected to resume production within march.

The Chilean reduction of pulp supply , it is feared , might cause an increase in paper prices.

China pushes pulp prices up

Limited stocks and increased demand from China is fueling pulp prices hike. Fearful of shrinking
supply Chinese buyers are intensely snapping up pulp ,creating another round of price increase in pulp. February shipments of pulp to China see a $30 or more pmt for BSK [bleached softwood kraft] and unbleached BSK going for an increase of $10 or more.

An idea of the high demand in China can be seen in the following comparison. In 2009 consumption of pulp in China was 13.7 million tonnes compared to a 9.5 million tonnes in 2008. That is more than 40% increase!. The weak demand from the struggling economy of N. America and Europe was completely overshadowed by the ferocious appetite of Chinese buyers. Many big mills in China are stocking up in anticipation of many new machines coming online this year.

What are the implications for us paper buyers? Expect more price increases in the near future.

Let us hope our economy move in the same direction

World wide stocks tumble

World wide stocks of softwood and hardwood are unusually low in Nov.2009 causing some mills to hike prices or reduce supply. January 2010 will see more pulp price hikes.
World wide shipments to China remain strong . In fact on year to year comparison, shipments in tonnage to China is more than 25% higher in 2009.

There are some who believe that China will slow down on import purchases , as the increasing higher prices are deterring Chinese buyers to keep high stocks. Then also the local Chinese mills are dropping prices. Another reason is that the Chinese are worried that soon "what goes up must come down."

More pulp price increases planned for 2010

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of  you.
The future of  pulp seems a happy one for pulp manufacturers. 2010 is starting with a bang. Many mills are declaring  pulp price  increase.
Botnia, Canfor Pulp, Domtar, Mercer International, Sodria Cell and Tembec are announcing hikes for NBSK [northern bleached softwood kraft]. In Asia  particularly in China the price will be, on 1st Jan. 2010, USD 720 PMT ; both Tembec and Botnia for example announced an increase of USD 20.
Other grades seem to be heading " north " as well.

Vatican celebrates Christmas in environment friendly way

The Pope is getting a Christmas tree as usual but this time an environment friendly one, a PEFC certfied tree from the PEFC certified forests of Walloon Region of Belgium.

This tree placed in St. Peters Square , at the Vatican City , is incidentally, huge. It has a gigantic circumference of 2.65 metres and weighs  a heavy 14 metric tons!

PEFC stands for Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Conservation is a well known forest accreditation system.

Click here to read more
http://news.paperindex.com/Recycling_Environment/PEFC_Certified_Christmas_Tree_for_the_Vatican_City/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+pulpandpapernews+(Pulp+and+Paper+Industry+News)&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Asia Pulp Paper

APP is a major paper supplier in the world especially in Malaysia. Sinar Mas, IKPP, Tjiwi Kimia and Pindo Deli are all familiar names to us here. Of course there are others as well, especially the APP mills in China.

This December APP is busy on a campaign to persuade the world that they are environmentally and socially responsible. On CNN International you can see APP's activities for conservation and biodiversity, reforestation, poverty reduction and concerns for climate change.

APP is committed to to fight against global warming, greenhouse gas emission and at the same time promoting sustainable economic development in Indonesia.

Pulp price rise but paper price steady in S.E.A.

Virgin pulp and recovered paper continue to rise but in South East Asia paper prices generally remain stable.
The law of demand and supply at work. Weak demand and excess supply has kept prices at bay even with increasing costs of raw materials.

For uncoated woodfree , the new paper machines recently in China has increased volumes of supply to S.E.A.
Mills also could not hike coated prices as mills in China and Indonesia are off loading big tonnages traditionally reserved for North America.

West Fraser increase pulp price

According to industry sources, West Fraser will increase USD30 pmt for NBSK, northern bleached softwood kraft, starting from 1st November.  With this increment NBSK now sells at USD 830 for  North America and Europe while a lower price goes for China and other parts of Asia.

IP makes more from Uncle Sam than on paper

International Paper received USD $525 million for black-liquor credits as compared to $233 pre-tax earnings for the 3rd qtr. One of the biggest in the paper industry IP has already been credited more than $1.5 billion and soon will surpass $2 billion by the end of this year when the program expires.

This Us legislature is intended to encourage the use of alternative fuel that combines traditional petroleum and plant-derived substances. IP by adding some diesel [minimum 0.1 % of the volume] to the black liquor normally used to power kraft-paper mills , qualifies for benefit of te credits.


Read more in
http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/10/international-paper-drowns-its-sorrows.html

Coated paper in the USA

September apparently was a busy month in the USA  for coated paper or art paper [so called in Malaysia ] but unlike Malaysia and other Asian countries the price in North America  remains down.  Apart for some spot business
coated woodfree and coated mechanical prices are not moving up.

http://news.paperindex.com/Blogs_Columns/Coated_Paper_Market_Been_Down_So_Long_This_Looks_Like_Up/

November sees more increases

The world's largest bleached eucalyptus[BEK] manufacturer will increase prices in NOVEMBER. Fibria ,with 5.7million tonnes a yr will up prices. The new US price will be $730pmt, Europe$700 and Asia $660 pmt.

$40 or more pmt price increase

 There is likely to be further price increase for pulp price in Asia due to weak supply and strong demand in China. Suppliers are looking at $40 to$50 for per tonne for BHK [bleached hardwood pulp], $30 pmt for bleached and $40 pmt  for unbleached softwppd kraft.

Recovered paper steady

SEA demand pushed recovered paper prices up.
Despite of China's lackluster demand ,prices of recovered paper actually increased. This is due to lack of supply and stable orders from Southeast Asian mills

Supply from USA, Japan and Europe have been limited.


Lower-end prices for old corrugated containers - from the US, Europe and Japan - are up $5/tonne, as are US new double-lined kraft clippings and pulp substitutes.

US old newspapers have climbed $10/tonne and European and Japanese volumes by $5/tonne.

PEFC celebrates The Economist’s endorsement

All printed copies of the Economist will carry the logo of PEFC [ Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Conservation]. The Economist is a well recognized magazine dealing in news and economics since 1843. PEFC is particularly successful in UK since its inception in 1999.
The Economist's production director has this to say, "The Economist Group, which owns The Economist, takes environmental issues seriously. We want to demonstrate to our readers that The Economist is committed to sourcing its paper from sustainably managed sources and the PEFC certification scheme is an excellent way for us to do this."


http://news.paperindex.com/Recycling_Environment/PEFC_celebrates_The_Economistrsquos_endorsement/

October pulp prices

Worldwide list of producers increasing October market pulp prices

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5, 2009 (RISI) - Market pulp producers are now pushing to implement $30-50/tonne price increases in North America, Western Europe, and Asia, effective with October shipments. RISI has mapped the price increases by producer, region, and effective date.

Arauco, the world's second-largest producer, was the first major to kick off the latest round of price increases when it slated $30-$40/tonne hikes on bleached radiata pine, unbleached softwood (UBK), and bleached eucalyptus (BEK) in China on Sept. 18. Donghae Pulp was the first producer to come out with an October increase, slating a $50/tonne increase in China on its hardwood Sept. 4.

Northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) major Canfor Pulp on Sept. 18 moved its Oct. 1 prices up $30/tonne in North America -- the continent's first price increase on any grade -- as well as in Asia, where it has a similar increase on specialty UBK.

The Vancouver-headquartered firm later added Europe to the regions it would raise prices by $30/tonne, to $770/tonne after major European producer Sodra came out with a $30/tonne increase, at $760/tonne.

Those producers set the tone in North America and Europe. Various North American producers including Domtar, West Fraser, Tembec, and SFK Pulp, among others all planned US NBSK prices at $770/tonne, while Rottneros, Botnia, and Mercer went for $760/tonne in Europe.

In hardwood kraft, Fibria flexed its muscles on Sept. 21 as a newly formed company with some 5.7 million tonnes/yr of BEK capacity, telling customers worldwide that it would lift prices $50/tonne. Other BEK producers such as Suzano and CENIBRA later moved their Oct. 1 prices up $50/tonne as well.

Northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) producers last week came out with their own $50/tonne price increases. Alberta-Pacific (Alpac), Domtar, and Sappi Fine Paper North America told customers they'd increase prices mostly $50/tonne in their key markets.

Southern bleached hardwood kraft (SBHK) meanwhile will see producers Domtar and Parsons & Whittemore (P&W) go for $50/tonne increases in the USA.

P&W also has a $50/tonne SBHK hike to Europe, as well as $30/tonne increases on southern bleached softwood kraft (SBSK) in both regions.

International Paper was the first SBHK and SBSK producer to slate higher October prices in the USA when it moved on Sept. 24. The same day, Tembec moved up its prices in Europe on the grades, which is made at its French mills.

Greenhouse gas, global warming

Irresponsible deforestation is one of the major causes of greenhouse effect and global warming. I thought it will still be good to understand more about it. The following article is from http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/greenhouse.htm?nl=1

The “greenhouse effect” often gets a bad rap because of its association with global warming, but the truth is we couldn’t live without it. What Causes the Greenhouse Effect?
Life on earth depends on energy from the sun. About 30 percent of the sunlight that beams toward Earth is deflected by the outer atmosphere and scattered back into space. The rest reaches the planet’s surface and is reflected upward again as a type of slow-moving energy called infrared radiation.
As it rises, infrared radiation is absorbed by “greenhouse gases” such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and methane, which slows its escape from the atmosphere.
Although greenhouse gases make up only about 1 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, they regulate our climate by trapping heat and holding it in a kind of warm-air blanket that surrounds the planet.
This phenomenon is what scientists call the "greenhouse effect." Without it, scientists estimate that the average temperature on Earth would be colder by approximately 30 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit), far too cold to sustain our current ecosystem.
How Do Humans Contribute to the Greenhouse Effect?
While the greenhouse effect is an essential environmental prerequisite for life on Earth, there really can be too much of a good thing.
The problems begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature.

• Burning natural gas, coal and oil —including gasoline for automobile engines—raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
• Some farming practices and land-use changes increase the levels of methane and nitrous oxide.
• Many factories produce long-lasting industrial gases that do not occur naturally, yet contribute significantly to the enhanced greenhouse effect and “global warming” that is currently under way.
• Deforestation also contributes to global warming. Trees use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen in its place, which helps to create the optimal balance of gases in the atmosphere. As more forests are logged for timber or cut down to make way for farming, however, there are fewer trees to perform this critical function.
• Population growth is another factor in global warming, because as more people use fossil fuels for heat, transportation and manufacturing the level of greenhouse gases continues to increase. As more farming occurs to feed millions of new people, more greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere.

Ultimately, more greenhouse gases means more infrared radiation trapped and held, which gradually increases the temperature of the Earth’s surface and the air in the lower atmosphere.
The Average Global Temperature is Increasing Quickly
Today, the increase in the Earth’s temperature is increasing with unprecedented speed. To understand just how quickly global warming is accelerating, consider this:
During the entire 20th century, the average global temperature increased by about 0.6 degrees Celsius (slightly more than 1 degree Fahrenheit).
Using computer climate models, scientists estimate that by the year 2100 the average global temperature will increase by 1.4 degrees to 5.8 degrees Celsius (approximately 2.5 degrees to 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Not All Scientists Agree
While the majority of mainstream scientists agree that global warming is a serious problem that is growing steadily worse, there are some who disagree. John Christy, a professor and director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is a respected climatologist who argues that global warming isn’t worth worrying about.
Christy reached that opinion after analyzing millions of measurements from weather satellites in an effort to find a global temperature trend. He found no sign of global warming in the satellite data, and now believes that predictions of global warming by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century are incorrect.

De-carbonization efforts by China

"China will step up efforts to improve energy efficiency and preserve forests, which help remove CO2 from the atmosphere." said,President Hu Jintao .China previously said it will reduce the amount of energy used in manufacturing and will add power from nuclear reactors and solar panels that produce no CO2 emissions.
For the first time China promised to reduce greenhouse gas emission to fight global warming but in proportion to its economic growth. Obama said that rich nations must lead while fast growing nations like China and India must contribute. 190 countries are working on a climate accord that will replace 1997 Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.The US rejected then the Kyoto accord partly because China never made any commitment.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=a5aOJ8geVvPQ

Carbon-Neutral Bibles and Honda Accord

Carbon-Neutral Bibles and Accord [Honda]

Efforts to reduce carbon footprint of printed products got a big blessing from Zondervan Publishers which is about to publish a line of carbon neutral bibles.

"To achieve CarbonNeutral® publication status, the emissions produced by the printing, production, storage and distribution of the Bibles to Walmart were independently measured by a third party assessor, and reduced to net zero through carbon offsetting," the announcement said.

This new green bible series should go well with "What would Jesus drive?" movement which sees present climate change as a moral and spiritual issue. By the way[a good joke from the blog below],the moral and spiritual thing to do is to buy a fuel-efficient Japanese-brand car made in the U.S., as evidenced by Jesus' statement in John 12:49 -- "I do not speak of my own Accord." Ha Ha Ha
From
http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/09/carbon-neutral-bibles-amen-to-that.html

The war of the forests....

There are many forest certifications like FSC, PEFC, SFI and LEI to name a few....But now war has broken out between ForestEthics and SFI in the USA. ForestEthics accused SFI guilty of tax fraud, inferior to FSC.......
This happening in a time where a UN report says that the forest certification movement is losing stamina.

Read more in
http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-forest-certification-war.html

Zuber Rieder introduces Bagasse, a new eco-design packaging grade

After so many intimidating price increases let's look at something on the lighter side.

An eco-friendly paper made from by products of sugar cane production, linen and hemp.
"The Bagasse range is the result of an eco-design approach stretching from growing the raw material to disposal of the product. It offers an original solution in terms of sustainable development when it comes to paper and board selection.

Bagasse is produced using by products from sugar cane production, linen and hemp grown on fallow land. As Bagasse does not include the use of trees in its manufacture, it is a low-energy consumption product in terms of both production and for transformation, and is also fully recyclable. Linen and Hemp are also natural crops, which require the use of very little pesticide or weed-killer, very little fertiliser and irrigation. "

Read more in

http://news.paperindex.com/ProductLaunches_NewTechnology/Zuber_Rieder_introduces_Bagasse_a_new_eco-design_packaging_grade/

Indonesian Certification for APP?

APP awarded LEI chain of custody certification for Indonesian mills

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 8, 2009 (Press Release) - Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and the Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (LEI) today announced that a number of APP's pulp and paper mills¹ have successfully achieved Chain of Custody (CoC) certification under the LEI certification program².

"The LEI CoC certification is a wood-tracking scheme to ensure that LEI-CoC certified product is sourced from a responsibly-managed forest," said Agung Prasetyo, Executive Director of LEI. "This is an excellent initiative for APP to introduce the first LEI-certified paper worldwide, manufactured from LEI Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certified pulpwood plantation. This signifies our efforts in further promoting Indonesian products certified under a transparent and multi-stakeholder based certification scheme."

Agung Prasetyo added that, LEI-CoC trademark has entered Japan, EU, and USA market through LEI-CoC certified wooden furniture. Today more than 1.5 million hectares of forest in Indonesia is certified under LEI program, consisting of natural production forest, plantation forest, indigenous people forest, and community-based forest.

The certification process, which covers APP's entire product range from pulp and tissue to various kinds of converted paper products, was conducted by TUV International Indonesia from April until July 2009. TUV International Indonesia is a part of German-based TUV Rheinland Group and an LEI accredited certification body. As a leading provider of environmental and social assessment worldwide, TUV operates in over 400 locations around the globe and promotes sustainable forest management.

APP's mills were accredited following a four stage certification program according to LEI's protocol. As a start, a pre-assessment process was conducted by an LEI expert panel³ from April 13th - 21st. On April 22nd, TUV International Indonesia placed a public announcement in a national newspaper to invite input from various stakeholders regarding the ongoing certification process. The main assessment was conducted at various APP production facilities in Sumatra and Java islands from May 7th -20th. All APP production facilities were declared to pass the audit during the decision-making process which was held on July 21st - 24th 2009.

"We were impressed by how hard APP staff worked. They are clearly very dedicated to ensuring all measurement and critical control points are in place for the clean production of LEIcertified products. This is not an easy task," stated Prof. Ir. T.A. Prayitno, M.For, PhD, a member of the LEI certification process expert witness panel.

Aida Greenbury, APP's Director of Sustainability & Stakeholder Engagement added, "LEI principles are designed to meet the needs and sustainability concerns of Indonesia in line with national laws and regulations. As such, we are very proud to have achieved LEI CoC certification as it demonstrates our commitment to responsible development of Indonesia's pulp and paper industry. We are constantly working to improve the sustainability of our operations."

In addition to these new LEI CoC certifications, APP's pulpwood supplier, PT Wirakarya Sakti, represents the largest LEI certified plantation in Indonesia. Currently LEI is the only SFM certification program applicable for pulpwood plantation industry in Indonesia. Prior to LEI certification, APP's mills have been certified under various international certification schemes, including Indonesian Ecolabel, European Ecolabel, Japan Ecolabel and PEFC.

On commercial plans for the sale of LEI certified paper, Ms Greenbury added, "APP is planning to market its LEI certified paper globally, starting with Asia. The Asian market is particularly aware of and welcoming to the LEI certification."

APP is planning to start production of LEI certified paper in the fourth quarter of 2009.

1 The pulp and paper mills certified are: PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk , PT Lontar Papyrus Pulp & Paper Industry , PT Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper Mills Karawang and Perawang Mills and PT Pabrik Kertas Tijwi Kimia Tbk .

2 LEI Standard 5001 and guidelines, which include LEI 88 Guideline (Chain of Custody System Certification), LEI 88-02 (General requirement for field assessor for CoC Certification), LEI 88-24 (Guideline for Decision Making Process by Expert Panel), Manual LEI 22-02 (LEI logo usage rules) and LEI Board of Trustee Decree Number 07/LEI/MPA/V/2009 (Amendment of Board of Trustee Number 01/MPA-LEI/VII/2007).

3 The expert panel consisted of Prof. Ir. T .A. Prayitno, M. For PhD - an expert on wood science technology and CoC, Dr. Ir. Sri Nugroho Marsoem, M. Agr. Sc - a pulp and paper specialist, Ir. Sugijanto Soewadi - an expert on sustainable forest management and CoC and Ir. Hasbie Hasbillah - an expert on production and environmental management for sustainable development.

The other viewpoint re reducing carbon emission

"We must be careful when dealing with Western, or Western-influenced, green campaigners. By all means listen to what they have to say. But we must take it with a pinch of salt. We should not let them impose their belief in the carbon emission theory on us, let alone make legislations that will prevent us from improving our standard of living."


Wan Saiful Wan Jan is director general of Malaysia Think Tank (www.WauBebas.org)
read his article in
http://malaysiainsider.com/index.php/opinion/wan-saiful-wan-jan/37142-dont-be-fooled-by-western-environmentalists-and-their-parrots-


Basically it is economic development versus sacrificing for the environment. Is there a workable compromise in-between, I wonder?"

Man made forest to combat global warming

A BBC report says that 100,000 artificial trees will be installed to soak up carbon emissions. This is one of the three methods deployed to reduce carbon emissions and to avoid dangerous climate change. These artificial trees capture CO2 from the atmosphere via a filter . The CO2 is captured and stored. One such tree is the size of a sea freight container and can remove thousands of times more CO2 than the equivalent sized real tree.


Read more in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8223528.stm

FSC running out of steam?

Forest Stewardship Council is facing obstacles in convincing smaller forestry owners and those of the developing countries. According to the latest UN report, the rate of growth of  global ceritfied forest has dropped dramatically during the last three years.
Find out more in  http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/08/certified-forestry-is-in-trouble-un.html