The forestry sector accounts for 9% of Portugal’s exports and the pulp and paper “cluster” accounted for 55% of the sector’s sales abroad in 2022, but growing shortages of raw materials threaten its sustainability, Navigator warns.
“Raw material shortages are growing, threatening the sustainability of operations and requiring the import of hundreds of millions of euros worth of wood that could be produced in Portugal and add value to the rural economy,” the pulp and paper mill said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to The Navigator Company, the Portuguese forestry sector, and in particular the pulp and paper sector, is “responsible for the creation of high added value, exports of tradable goods, job creation (with a large number of agents). involved in the production, processing and marketing of its products) and for its role as a dynamizing agent in disadvantaged regions.”
“The vitality of the forestry sector, namely the importance of its manufacturing industry, was highlighted on Tuesday due to its significant export nature, which in total accounts for about 9% of national sales abroad,” he says, elaborating that “in 2022 the pulp and paper industry “cluster” alone accounted for the equivalent of about 55% of foreign sales for the entire forestry sector.”
On the other hand, Portuguese forests also support the creation of skilled jobs, rural wealth creation and population resettlement, Navigator highlights, stating that “the eucalyptus sector alone generates more than 80 thousand jobs in the Portuguese economy.” .
Responsible for the management of approximately 109,000 hectares of forest throughout the country, Navigator appears in the 2022 ranking of the consultancy Iberinform Portugal among the “2000 largest companies in the Setúbal region” as the company that has created the most value for the region by strengthening its position. position as the third largest exporter in Portugal and the largest producer of national added value.
According to this “rating”, which is cited by Navigator, “the company occupies the second position in terms of turnover in this region, reducing the distance to first place”: for the first time in this classification, the company occupies only 2nd place. 8% of the turnover (unconsolidated) of the Autoeuropa ranking leader.
Navigator states that it accounts for approximately 1% of the national gross domestic product (GDP), approximately 3% of national merchandise exports and more than 30,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the country, having invested a total of €210 million in 2022 in the forestry value chain.
More than 92% of the group’s products are sold outside Portugal, in 30 countries on five continents.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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