Marcelo Schmid
The MarketWatch Blog is Transitioning to ResourceWise Forest Products
Forest2Market: July 14, 2023
Earlier this month, Forest2Market do Brasil held a regional seminar in Northeast Paraná that covered topics related to the region’s forestry sector and the larger forest products industry. Co-sponsors of the seminar included APRE (Parana’s association for forest-based companies), Resource Management Services do Brasil (RMS) and BO Paper. The event was the first in a series of three seminars that will be organized in the coming months to bring together members of the forest products industry for discussing multiple perspectives on the state of the forest industry in different regions of the country.
The first seminar took place at BO Paper’s facility in Arapoti and included a general discussion about the state of the forest products market in the Northeast region of Paraná, which includes the municipalities of Jaguariaíva, Arapoti, Telêmaco Borba and others, as well as some municipalities in the southern region of the state of São Paulo.
The event drew approximately 50 participants—most of whom work in the region’s forest products sector as representatives of wood-producing companies or professionals from wood-consuming industries.
Edson Balloni, APRE’s Executive Board President, opened the seminar with a discussion of the need to educate the public about the important roles that the forest products industry has in contributing to sustainable economic growth. Balloni also shared his perspective concerning the current timber supply, which included acknowledgment of a potential eucalyptus surplus and a pine shortage in the coming years.
He was followed by Marcelo Schmid, Forest2Market do Brasil’s Director, who presented an analysis on the Northeast region’s forestry market with emphasis on timber prices based on the transactional data that Forest2Market’s collects. Schmid began his presentation with a broad market analysis, then delved in to how the market has led to the decentralization of the forest industry. Schmid noted that the changing market dynamics are creating new leaders that focus on timberland management, production and sales to a diverse set of customers. He also presented a series of Forest2Market’s delivered wood price benchmarks for the region, which were then compared to other regional prices. Schmid also highlighted the price variations within the sample benchmarks and discussed possible root causes for these disparities.
Sr. Fábio Conci, BO Paper’s Procurement Manager, then discussed the Northeast regional market and focused on the importance of maintaining industry standards for both timber quality and price without sacrificing production capabilities. He also noted that establishing optimum price points is ultimately positive for both sellers and buyers of wood raw materials, but this price range must be built upon reliable transaction data, which is a capability unique to Forest2Market.
The presentations concluded with Mr. Luis Costa, Procurement Manager of RMS, who discussed the wood seller’s point of view within the larger Brazilian market. Costa emphasized the primary economic factors that affect wood raw materials, including interest rates and exchange rates, and their unpredictable variations over time. Echoing Sr. Conci’s message, Costa also discussed the necessity of establishing a transparent relationship between timber suppliers and the wood products industry with the goal of ensuring stable and sustainable growth for both parties.
At the culmination of the seminar, all of the speakers gathered to answer a series of questions concerning the current and future market dynamics at work within the Brazilian forestry market. The discussion was lively and enlightening, as many different viewpoints were expressed by representatives operating within different divisions of the forestry supply chain.
By the end of the discussions, the participants emphasized the necessity to unify and mobilize forest sector professionals in the exchange of business ideas, experiences and best practices. This type of knowledge sharing will not only improve individual business performance, but it will help to better align stakeholders, serve to improve the supply chain and ultimately strengthen the forestry sector. Additionally, the panel continued to highlight the need to educate the public and private sectors about the vital economic, environmental and community benefits that the forest products industry provides while contributing to a sustainable future.
The success of the first seminar reaffirms the importance of continuing the larger dialogue. Forest2Market do Brasil is proud to sponsor such initiatives in promoting the forest products industry and improving the performance of its clients operating within the Brazilian forest industry.
