Forestry area totaled 9.7 million hectares; 78.1% are eucalyptus, used mainly in the cellulose industry
The value of forestry production reached a record R$37.9 billion in 2023, an increase of 11.2% and production in 4,924 municipalities. The value of forestry production continues to surpass that of plant extraction, which has been the case since 1998. Forestry has maintained the growth trajectory of recent years, reaching a value of R$31.7 billion, an increase of 13.6% compared to to that achieved in 2022.
Plant extraction remained stable, with a variation of 0.0% in relation to the previous year, when it had varied by 0.2%. Thus, the production value achieved in 2022 remained at R$6.2 billion. The data comes from Plant Extraction and Forestry Production 2023, released this week by IBGE.
“We can analyze that much of this growth in the value of forestry production comes from product prices. We noticed increases in the quantity of products produced, but the main factor was prices. As an example, round wood grew 3.0% in quantity and 28.1% in value”says IBGE Agriculture Manager, Carlos Alfredo Guedes.
The researcher also explains that the growth trend of forestry in the sector’s production value to the detriment of plant extractivism persists. This does not mean that plant extraction is decreasing, but rather that the value of forestry products is growing. In 2023, forestry had a share of 83.6% in the value of forestry production while plant extraction recorded 16.4%. This distribution had been 81.5% and 18.5%, respectively, in 2022.
In 2023, there was an increase of 2.5% in the areas of planted forests in the country, or an additional 238.0 thousand hectares. The total forestry area is 9.7 million hectares, of which 7.6 million are eucalyptus, predominantly used in the paper and cellulose industry. Together, eucalyptus and pine were responsible for covering 96.3% of forestry areas for commercial purposes in the country.
Among the regions, Central-West (13.5%), Southeast (1.1%) and North (0.2%) showed growth in 2023 while small reductions, of 0.5% and 0.1%, were observed in the Northeast and South regions, respectively.
“A highlight observed by the research in 2023 was this growth towards the Central-West, mainly Mato Grosso do Sul, which increased the area under forestry and assumed the second largest area of planted forests. This does not necessarily signal a replacement of other areas, but an expansion”says Guedes.
According to data from Secex (Secretariat of Foreign Trade), from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, cellulose occupied 10th place in the ranking of the country’s total exports in 2023 (2.3%), with 19.1 million tons exported, which produced US$7.9 billion, a reduction of 5.3% compared to 2022.
The logwood sector for paper and cellulose remains on an upward trend, reaching a value of R$ 11.7 billion, a 19.4% growth in the value of production, after the 35.4% growth recorded in the previous year . “Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of cellulose. The main destinations in 2023 were China, the United States, the Netherlands and Italy”says the researcher.
The share of wood products remains predominant in the forestry sector, representing 98.2% of the value of forestry production. The set of wood products originating in areas planted for commercial purposes registered an increase of 15.4% in the value of production, while in those resulting from plant extraction the increase was 0.5%.
Among forestry wood products, there was a record of growth in the value of production in all groups, being more pronounced in firewood, which increased by 20.6%. The value of wood production intended for the manufacture of paper and cellulose grew 19.4%; charcoal, 6.5%; and round wood for other purposes 16.2%.
Plant extraction recorded an increase in the value produced in 2019 (6.8%), 2020 (5.8%) and 2021 (31.6%), but in 2022 it recorded a reduction of 0.3% and in 2023 it showed a small reduction of R$132 thousand in current values. While wood products account for almost the entire value of forestry production (98.2%), in plant extraction this group represents 64.2%, followed by food products (29.9%), waxes (3.6%), oilseeds (1.6%) and others (0.7%).
Minas Gerais adds R$ 8.3 billion in forestry
Minas Gerais continues to have the highest value of forestry production, which grew 7.5%, reaching R$8.3 billion in 2023, or 26.0% of total forestry. The State is the largest producer of charcoal, with 88.1% of the national volume.
Paraná comes in 2nd in terms of production value of planted forests, R$5.1 billion. It is the largest producer of round wood for other purposes, responsible for 38.1% of national production. Production grew 9.2%, reaching 22.9 million cubic meters, and the value of production rose 19.1%, reaching R$2.8 billion in nominal terms.
In terms of planted area, Minas Gerais continues to record the largest area covered with planted forest species in the country, with 2.1 million hectares, which represented a growth of 1.7% compared to the previous year, with almost all of it occupied by eucalyptus (97.4%).
Mato Grosso do Sul increased its forestry area by 15.2%, taking on the 2nd largest area of planted forests, with 1.4 million hectares, of which 99.5% are eucalyptus plantations. São Paulo records 1.2 million hectares, a growth of just 0.1%, losing second place to Mato Grosso do Sul.
Among the 10 municipalities with the largest areas of planted forests in Brazil, 5 are in Mato Grosso do Sul; 3, in Minas Gerais; 1, in Rio Grande do Sul; and 1, in Bahia.
Four municipalities in Mato Grosso do Sul occupy the top positions in terms of planted area in the country, with the highlights being Ribas do Rio Pardo and Três Lagoas, which had the largest areas of planted forests, with 325.0 thousand hectares (an increase of 29.3%) and 288.0 thousand hectares (9.1% increase), respectively.
“Following the growth of the Central-West Region and Mato Grosso do Sul, a relevant point observed in 2023, at the municipal level, was the presence of more municipalities in the state in the ranking of planted forests in Brazil”says Guedes.
Buritizeiro is the municipality with the largest planted forestry area in Minas Gerais. In Bahia, the highlight is Caravelas, while in Rio Grande do Sul, Encruzilhada do Sul stands out, whose areas are practically divided between eucalyptus and pine. These last 3 municipalities are part of areas of influence of industrial complexes focused on the manufacture of paper and cellulose.
Paraná leads the national production of firewood from forestry
With an estimated quantity of 13.8 million cubic meters, which corresponds to 24.9% of the national total, Paraná was also highlighted in the production of firewood originating from planted forests.
Rio Grande do Sul was the 2nd largest producer of firewood, reaching 12.2 million cubic meters, 21.9% of the national total. The South Region accounts for 61.0% of national firewood production.
General Carneiro (PR) is the municipality with the highest value
The municipality of General Carneiro (PR), despite suffering a reduction of 8.4%, led the ranking of forestry production value, reaching a total of R$577.7 million in 2023. The municipality, which is a major producer of roundwood for other purposes suffered a drop of 17.2%, as well as roundwood for paper and cellulose, which recorded a reduction of 3.4%. Highlight is the growth of 275.0% in the quantity and 348.1% in the value of charcoal production.
João Pinheiro (MG), 2nd municipality in the ranking of value of forestry production, with R$ 575.0 million, was highlighted in the production of charcoal, with 437.2 thousand tons, producing R$ 524.7 million, growth of 8.9% and which corresponds to 91.2% of the value of the municipality’s forestry production.
Ribas do Rio Pardo (MS) went from 9th to 3rd largest municipality in value of forestry production, producing R$ 414.8 million, highlighted by the production of round wood for paper and cellulose, with 4.1 million cubic meters, increase of 28.1% in terms of volume, compared to the previous year. The value of production rose 47.2%, producing R$331.2 million in nominal terms.
Plant extraction: R$6.2 billion in production value
In 2023, the value of production obtained through plant extraction showed a reduction of R$ 132.0 thousand, totaling R$ 6.2 billion, which shows a certain stability in relation to 2022. Of the groups of products that make up the exploration extractivist in the research, decreases were recorded in the production value of waxes (18.8%), non-elastic gums (100.0%) and pine knot (8.7%).
The group of wood products, which had the largest share in the value of extractive production (64.2%), recorded a small increase of 0.5% compared to the previous year, after a reduction of 0.2% in 2022. Therefore, it has shown stability in the last 3 years. Until 2020, extractive wood exploitation had been losing ground in the country, being gradually replaced by that originating in cultivated forests. However, in 2021, there was a large increase influenced by roundwood production.
The States of Mato Grosso and Pará together accounted for 62.6% of the total quantity of roundwood extracted, representing 79.1% of the production value of this product. Pará, which surpassed Mato Grosso again in 2022, remains the largest producer of roundwood also in 2023, reaching 5.0 million cubic meters, with an increase of 5.0% in its extraction.
Açaí and yerba mate maintain greater value
In 2023, the sum of the production value of non-wood products recorded a reduction of 0.9%, totaling R$2.2 billion. The group of food products, the largest among non-wood products from plant extraction, showed an increase in production value (0.9%), totaling R$1.85 billion.
Amazonian açaí is collected from a regional native palm tree, concentrating 92.1% of its extraction in the North Region. In 2023, this production was 238.9 thousand tons, 3.3% below that obtained in the previous year. In terms of nominal value, it increased by 2.8%, totaling R$853.1 million. Pará recorded the highest production of açaí, with 167.6 thousand tons, which represents 70.2% of the national total. With an increase of 1.7% in quantity and 1.4% in the value of production, this federation unit reached R$651.1 million.
In the ranking of the 10 municipalities that recorded the highest volumes, in 2023, 8 are from Pará, with the municipality of Limoeiro do Ajuru continuing to occupy the position of largest national producer of extractive açaí, accounting alone for 21.3% of the national total , with a positive variation of 2.0% compared to 2022.
The extraction of yerba mate, which is concentrated in the South Region, produced the 2nd highest production value among non-timber products, with R$589.6 million, registering a reduction of 9.1% compared to 2022. Production was of 425.8 thousand tons, a decrease of 3.6% compared to the previous year.
In Paraná, which holds 87.0% of national production, there are the 10 municipalities that had the highest production of yerba mate in 2023, with São Mateus do Sul standing out as the one with the highest volume extracted, with 15.3%. of the national total, and with a growth of 3.2% in relation to that reported in the previous survey.
With information from IBGE Agency.
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