Portuguese Woodworking and Cork Industries: Market Analysis Report
(1 Voto )
de António Esteves, Luís Neves Silva, Félix Romero, Nora Berrahmouni
Idioma principal do documento: Inglês
Resumo em Inglês: The Iberian Peninsula is the second largest region in the world in imports of Tropical Sawn Timber, with more than 550,000 m3, accordingly with the 2007 edition of “ITTO – Annual review and assessment of the world timber situation” - China is first in ranking with more than 2 million m3 of Tropical Sawn Timber. Portugal and Spain, due to its cultural past and traditions became two of the countries known wide world, for their timber products – mainly furniture – made with tropical timber. At the same time, Portugal is also the world’s leader producer of cork and cork products and one of the main producers of pulp and paper in Europe. When taking a closer look at the analyses in a country with only 10 million people such as Portugal, it is easy to see the importance of the Forestry Industry for the national economy: • 5.3% of the National GVA • 12% of the industrial GDP • 12% of the employment in the Industry • 10% of the exports. Accordingly with ITTO, in 2007 Portugal were 9th worldwide importer of Tropical Round Timber and 13th worldwide importer of Tropical Sawn Timber. The Portuguese Tropical Round Hardwood imports are from the West African Coast – Congo Basin. Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and Republic of Congo are the country’s main suppliers. Portugal is the main customer of Democratic Republic of Congo and ranks as 3rd in the round timber exports from Gabon. There are Portuguese companies managing tropical timber plantations in Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo. Portugal ranks as the 6th Brazilian Tropical Sawn Timber world customer, and 4th in Europe. The Wood and Cork industries are responsible for processing important – and Portugal's rare - renewable natural resources, like maritime pine and cork. The Sector is divided into seven large areas with distinctive final products: - sawmilling - wood-based panels - carpentry and joinery - furniture - timber trade - pulp and paper - cork products. The Wood and Cork manufacturing companies are located mainly in the north and centre of Portugal, mainly along the Atlantic coast line between Porto and Lisbon. The Cork industry, along with the Pulp and Paper and the Wood-based Panel Industries are dominated by large groups. The Woodworking Industry forms a cluster of small and medium-sized companies with a strong interdependence between them. Through the whole value chain, materials, components or even by-products are made available to be used within the wood-based industries, either by secondary processing industries (such as carpentry and furniture), or by the sawmill industry (utilization of sawmills’ by-products and recycling of residue and waste from the other industries). In Portugal there are timber importing companies and timber agents. The purchase of tropical round hardwood is focused in the countries of the West African Coast. The imports of sawn hardwood are made from Brazil (tropical species), France and USA (temperate species). The equipment varies according to the size of the companies and production. The industry is satisfactorily equipped (their equipment suits the operational needs), with many companies having equipment at their disposal which makes use of Numeric Control and CAD/CAM production control information systems. The main products of the Portuguese woodworking industry are: - pallets and packaging, made from softwood, mainly maritime pine, - wood based panels (particleboard and medium density fibre boards, mainly made from softwood, maritime pine), - doors, made from soft- and hardwoods, - parquet and flooring, mainly from hardwoods, including eucalyptus. - furniture components and replica, contemporary, box type, kitchen and office furniture, employing softwood, hardwood and wood-based panels. The sawmill industry has a long experience in co-operation, since in the second half of the 1960s the companies joined efforts to export their products (pallets, packaging and fencing) to north Europe, creating their own export trading companies. The wood based panel industry has quite high productivity and exports the majority of the production (MDF, particleboard and plywood). The carpentry and furniture industries are co-operating in export efforts, working together to participate in exhibitions in North Africa, Middle East, North America, and Europe. The Cork and the Pulp and Paper industries are making large investments upgrading production lines, developing and promoting new products. Their main products are: - cork stoppers - flooring and wall coverings made with cork - composite cork - insulation cork - pulp, and - paper. However they are facing different market realities. The Pulp and Paper Industry market prices are dropping, but the orders are increasing. The Cork Stoppers manufacturers are facing losses due to a drop in a wine consumption worldwide and have a severe competition from other materials such as plastic and metal. The Sector aims to increase exports, find and consolidate international markets, with the support of the Portuguese Government and Associations.
Environment and Certification - Forests have a critical role to play in the fight against global warming. They are the largest storehouse of carbon on earth and, after coal and oil, are the third biggest source of carbon emissions. Deforestation, particularly in the tropics, contributes about 20% of global carbon emissions, and has negative impacts on biodiversity and sustainable long-term economic growth. Portugal is in the Top 10 of Tropical Timber importers in the world. The country plays an important role in the world Tropical Timber Trade, as a consumer. Consumer countries, such as Portugal, have a role to play in stopping deforestation, by avoiding forest products from illegal logging. The development of a responsible market for forest products helps to eliminate products from unwanted sources, such as illegal logging, while encourages forest managers to adopt best management practices. Certified products assure to the consumer, the product was responsibly produced. The importance of the Forestry Industry is proclaimed by every level of the Portuguese Government. Portugal signed all the main international protocols related with Environment and Forests Preservation and approved a National Forestry Strategic Plan. Portugal subscribed to the FLEGT and CITES but is not an active country. The Portuguese Authorities do a phytosanitary control and verify the origin certificates of the timber and related products; however the Customs Officers are not experts in wood species or products. They believe in the contents of the declarations. In recent years, mistakes occurred when traders and importers fill the customs declarations forms mixing plywood, veneer and flooring nomenclature codes. Despite the fact of Portugal being one of the European major Timber importers, the Government and the Public Administration does not show any concern about the development and implementation of measures and practices on responsible public procurement and consumption of forest products aiming the use of certified timber in public works. There is no legislation regarding controlling the source of the wood, aiming to eliminate unwanted sources, such as illegal logging, neither regarding stimulus for the use of certified wood products.
Palavras-chave em Inglês: The Portuguese Economy, The Forestry Industries in Portugal, The Forestry Products Trade between Portugal and Spain, Logistics, Trade – Timber Importing Agents and Companies, Tropical Timber, Cork Industry