Brazil’s Revenue from Exports of Pulp, Paper and Wood Panels Up 7.3% in First Half 2017
(Sao Paulo, August 4, 2017) The Brazilian Tree Industry (Ibá) reported that in the first half of 2017 (January – June) pulp exports rose 6.8% in comparison with the same period of the previous year, reaching 6.8 million tons; exports of wood panels increased by 34.8%, with 597,000 cubic meters directed to foreign markets, and paper exports grew 1% with almost 1.1 million tons traded. This positive performance propelled export revenues past the US$4 billion mark in the first half of this year — a growth of 7.3% compared to the first six months of 2016. It also created a US$3.6 billion surplus in the trade balance for the sector, an increase of 9.1%.
Export Revenues. From January to June of 2017, pulp exports reached US$ 3.0 billion (+9.8%), while paper exports were US$ 925 million (-2.0%) and wood panel exports reached US$ 137 million (+25.7%).
Export Destinations. More than 42% of the pulp Brazil exported went to China in the first half of 2017, representing revenues of US$ 1.3 billion; this is an increase of 25.5% over the same period in 2016. Latin American countries continued to be the main markets for paper and wood panels during this period, with export revenues of US$ 593 million (+10.0%) and US$ 75 million (+27.1%), respectively.
Production. Brazilian pulp production surpassed 9.5 million tons, growing 5.0% between January and April of 2017 in comparison with 2016, and paper registered 5.1 million tons (-0.7%).
Domestic Sales. During the first semester of 2017, paper sales on the domestic market reached 2.6 million tons, a drop of 1.6% compared with the same period last year. At the same time, the wooden panel sector registered sales of 3.1 million m3 in Brazil (-1.6%). (Source: Brazilian Tree Industry (Ibá))
