The pine moves again
The port of Montevideo is the scene of a new movement that is shaping up to have continuity: a significant flow of pine exported to Logizo was generated for China. Uruguay is able to contemplate the demand of the Asian giant, because the production of pine far exceeds its domestic consumption. So far, the main supplier of pine for China, and therefore the main competitor of our country, is New Zealand.
To deepen on the challenges presented by the incipient business of the export of pine trees in Uruguay, Forestal consulted the different actors that are involved in the process. María Gabriela Quincke is the director of one of the companies that is exporting to China, Muradir. This Uruguayan company had experience in commercializing lumber, since 2005 it has been using eucalyptus in Vietnam. At the end of 2016, Muradir added a new client to its portfolio, China, and a new product, pino. In particular, they are two species, the majority (90%) of Pinus taeda and the rest of Pinus elliotti, both from Rivera, Tacuarembó and Paysandú. The main destination of this type of wood is construction.
“There are sufficient volumes of pine to harvest to supply the long-term demand.” María Gabriela Quincke, Muradir.
Quincke reported that the company completed its third shipment of 32,000 tons of pine logs to China in March. From now on, announced Quincke, on the part of Muradir is planned in a first stage a shipment every 20 days, until one per week to meet the demand of the buyer country.
THE PRODUCT IS THERE
The perspectives are very encouraging. Quincke said that Uruguay has enough planted pine to export two vessels a month for 80 years. There are sufficient volumes of planted pine to be harvested to supply the long-term demand; they are estimated at almost 60 million tons in total. Which is an extraordinary fact if we consider that only forty years ago the national production was insufficient to satisfy the demand of the domestic market, reason why Uruguay was a deficit country and importer of forest products.
Franz Niederwieser, commercial director of Utilaje, port and logistics operator who participated in the second export to China, believes that although two monthly shipments are estimated at the beginning, the potential is even greater, since the need to export forests and a demand sustained by the Asian giant.
According to Quincke, the process of exporting pines begins with the purchase of wood. To do this, the forest is inspected to have a pattern of the length and diameter characteristics of the trunks, which must not be less than 20 centimeters in diameter at the tips, be as straight as possible and have adequate sanitary conditions. The transport is then carried out and once the wood is in storage in Montevideo, the fumigation against insects is carried out 10 days before the loading of those logs that go on hold, and the stowage is covered with plastic sheets. “When the ship arrives, it is our responsibility to take that wood and transport it to the port. It is from the truck on the side of the ship that the port operator Pantzin assumes the cargo of the ship, “Quincke explained. The merchandise that goes into the warehouses is fumigated and these are hermetically closed.
A PARTICULAR LOGISTICS
For each boat that is loaded, approximately 80 thousand man-hours are estimated between harvest, internal transport, loading and unloading, conditioning and measuring at the beach for storing and stowing.
“The stowage factor (greater cargo volume that can be placed in the hold) is at the height of that reached by New Zealand.” Diego Silva, Pantzin.
In the case of the current export of pine logs, two port operators, Pantzin and Utilaje, have been responsible for carrying out the logistics. Utilaje, as already indicated, was the port operator that worked on the second shipment, made on January 14, 2017 on the Huanghai Glory ship. Niederwieser detailed the process. The harvesting of the wood that arrives from the North of the country takes place in a plot 20 kilometers from Montevideo and does not present major difficulties. The challenge begins once embarkation begins in the port, since it requires a constant flow of trucks from the beach to the port round trip. In total, about 1,000 trips are made to complete the load. Once the load is started, you work 24 hours a day, in three 8-hour shifts for about a week. Whether the volume is greater or if the weather conditions are unfavorable and stop work, the term can be extended for several more days.
The cargo operation of the ship requires the work of at least 70 or 80 people. Two thirds of the merchandise is stored in previously fumigated warehouses, and the rest is loaded directly on the ship’s deck, which is also properly prepared for this type of transport. The stowage process is carried out with the help of the cranes that own the cargo ships and specialized machines from the dock, all fulfilling strict requirements and safety controls.
In an interview with Forestal, the director of Pantzin, Diego Silva, responsible for the first and third shipments of pine logs to China, highlighted the successful operation, which place Uruguay at the height of New Zealand for its excellent stowage factor (ie , the largest volume of cargo that can be placed in the hold). Recall that New Zealand is a pioneer country with 30 years of experience in loading pine logs into China.
PRESENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES
The stock of product to be exported is not a problem, since as noted, there is surplus of pine in Uruguay. According to Quincke, then, the viability of the business would be conditioned by the logistics and operational capacity of the port of Montevideo before an eventual congestion. In this regard, Wilfredo Camacho, head of the Montevideo Department of the National Ports Administration (ANP), explained to Forestal that currently the port has a dock (6-7) for bulk or break bulk ships with a large draft, about 10 meters; but C, multipurpose, which is the largest draft, has already been used for these exports. Camacho said that the port has among its priorities to fulfill the services required for export.
Approximately 80,000 man-hours are estimated for each ship that is loaded between harvest, internal transport, loading / unloading, conditioning and measuring at the beach for storing and stowing.
With regard to pier C, the port operator Silva says that if the announced extension of 180 meters of this is materialized, it would be very beneficial for the operation of pines. The logistical challenge according to Silva is to accelerate the work. With the right machines and with more experience, the director of Pantzin SA estimates that he would be able to make up to two shipments in a week or ten days, or even two shipments simultaneously.
The goal as operator, said Silva, is to be on par with New Zealand and achieve a stowage in two and a half days or three. And a dream, overcome it. “Each boat is a challenge to overcome. And the objective is to always give a better performance looking for excellence “.
The country cost. One of the biggest difficulties facing the export business of pine in logizo is the so-called “country cost”. In particular, Quincke notes the high cost of freight, and more if one takes into account that the pine comes mostly from the coast and north, and that rail transport is not viable at the moment. It is said that until relatively recently the cost of domestic transport was one-seventh or eighth of the cost of freight from Uruguay to China. The operators insist that a land freight from Salto to Tacuarembó is much more expensive than freight from the port of Montevideo to its final destination. As regards the international prices of wood, these are considered low by the export company Muradir. According to the latest report of OPYPA (October 2015-September 2016), the prices of the wood in rolls stayed until April of this year with values superior to 150 US $ / m3, but from April they do not manage to surpass this value and they are in around 146 US $ / m3. The prices of the last year remain similar to the averages of the last 10 years. It is estimated that, despite being very large volumes, the profit margins are very tight.
The pine in Uruguay. According to data from the 2013 Forestry Agenda, our country, out of a total of one million one hundred thousand hectares planted, had almost 30% of pine plantations, with the rest being eucalyptus. In declarations made on July 15, 2016 to the newspaper El País, Pedro Soust, head of the General Forestry Directorate of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, said that Uruguay has some 200,000 hectares of planted pines. Most of the plantations were carried out under the Forest Law of 1987, which was implemented as of 1990. They are located mainly north of the Negro River and on the coast. On that same occasion, Soust said that at an official level there is an interest that cellulose plants can be supplied not only with eucalyptus but also with pine, since the pulp produced in the country is exclusively eucalyptus wood. If this were to happen, it would be another important outlet for this type of wood, which is abundant in our country.
