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The Prinoth Raptor 300 with the associated Grizzly M650m mulcher has been optimized with a number of improvements to better meet the requirements of the modern working world. Source: Timberbiz New features include: 0 Cab: Inspired by the successful design of the Raptor 500, the new cab offers a spacious and comfortable interior with maximum visibility and safety. Improved driver’s seat: The new Recaro seat offers maximum comfort, even during long working days. New joysticks: The controls have been completely redesigned for ergonomic and intuitive operation. Reinforced forestry protection frame: Reinforced components at both the front and rear provide additional safety. Automatic flap control: The control of the flap is now connected to the push bar to increase comfort and efficiency when working. Improved air filter: A new air filter has been specially developed for tough working conditions to ensure optimum performance. A new push bar has been developed for even more effective mulching performance. Reinforced side walls significantly improve the overall stability of the mulcher. The new flap with counter blades enables more efficient shredding of the material. The revised design simplifies operation and maintenance of the mulcher. The Raptor 300 and its mulcher are now dressed in black.

Kazakhstan and Finland have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in forestry, emphasizing innovative approaches to forest management. Source: Azernews This agreement was established during a meeting between Kazakhstan’s Ambassador Azamat Abdraimov and Finland’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Sari Essaya. Ambassador Abdraimov provided a detailed overview of ongoing initiatives in Kazakhstan aimed at advancing its forestry sector. He highlighted projects focused on sustainable forest management and discussed investment opportunities in environmentally significant forestry initiatives and the expansion of forested areas. The ambassador also addressed key topics for future collaboration, including forest regeneration, the creation of new green spaces, legislative enhancements, and strategies to preserve and expand Kazakhstan’s forested regions. Both parties acknowledged that enhancing bilateral cooperation paves the way for new partnerships in forestry, water resource management, and food security. By the end of last year, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Finland reached approximately US$210 million.

On the 17-18 October 2024 the 72nd edition of the International Softwood Conference was held at the UNAHOTELS Capo Taormina, Italy. The conference was hosted by the Federlegno Arredo, which co-organized the event with the two usual partners: the European Organization of the Sawmill Industry (EOS) and the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF). Source: Timberbiz The event drew around 230 people coming from more than 20 countries all over the world and it was opened by a macroeconomic overview provided by Marco Fortis, which showed that many factors, including geopolitical tensions and a slowdown of globalization, are having a negative impact on the global and European economy. Italy is a partial exception to this having done comparatively better than its European neighbours over the last couple of years. During the first day of the conference, information-packed sessions about the market trends were followed with attention by the audience. This year’s conference was marked by its truly global flair with presenters focusing not just on European markets, but on North America, China, Japan, MENA, India, Australia and New Zealand. While there were regional differences, in some cases significant, it is apparent that 2024 has been overall a challenging year for the softwood industry across the world but probably slightly better than expected at the end of 2023. The big question mark for operators in the sector is whether the market has bottomed out and 2025 can really be the year of recovery. After peaking in 2021, softwood production has significantly fallen over the last few years to adjust to the demand decline. If forecasts for 2024 are confirmed, at the end of the year production will be 12%lower than in 2021. Next year production is expected to grow by 2-3%. Morten Bergsten, Vice-President and Softwood Chairman of ETTF, and Herbert Jobst, President of EOS, delivered similar messages in their presentations from their respective vantage points of user and producer. Production in the sector has been curtailed to accommodate weak demand. Sawn softwood prices have sharply declined from the peaks observed during 2021 and 2022. This is mainly due to the downfall of the construction sector. However, there might be light at the end of the tunnel. As it was reported by numerous speakers at the conference interest rates have started falling across the world, which might trigger an upturn in the construction sector, which would be vital for sawmillers and traders alike. If the market does have already bottomed out, the recovery is expected to be sluggish at least in the short-term.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania is pleased to see the return of the migratory swift parrot to Tasmania. Every year, swift parrots travel from mainland Australia in search of forest areas with the richest food sources for foraging and breeding. Source: Timberbiz Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s proactive monitoring has confirmed that swift parrots are actively searching for potential nest sites in Tasmanian forests, with recent observations indicating the presence of some birds in the Eastern Tiers. To enhance monitoring efforts, Sustainable Timber Tasmania has deployed acoustic recorders throughout this area. These devices will assist in detecting different kinds of bird activity and enable us to adapt management activities where needed. In the coming week, monitoring will also take place in the southern forests. Sustainable Timber Tasmania remains committed to implementing effective conservation outcomes for the swift parrot in Tasmania’s public production forests and looks forward to providing further updates as monitoring efforts progress throughout the season.

A demonstration plant for biographite will be up and running in Finland in a couple of years. New-Zealand-based CarbonScape will start the sample production of biographite at Sunila in Kotka, Southern Finland. Source: Forest.fi Biographite is a more eco-friendly material used in the batteries of electric vehicles. Biographite is made of wood chips, available as a sidestream of forest industry. It can be used in lithium-ion batteries to replace mined or fossil-based synthetic graphite, the market of which is dominated by China. The lithium-ion battery in an electric vehicle weighs several hundred kilograms, and graphite makes up almost half of its volume (42%). According to CarbonScape, the performance of biographite is equal to the best-performing synthetic graphite and exceeds that of natural graphite. CarbonScape plans to start constructing the plant next year, and the sample production will begin in 2026. The partner in this project is the Finnish-Swedish forest industry company Stora Enso, an important producer of renewable materials. The production of carbon-based graphite in China is unethical and burdening on the environment, said Katariina Torvinen, Research Manager at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, in an interview with the Forest Finland project in 2022. “In the current global situation, issues related to batteries are important. It is of great significance if the graphite produced unethically in China can be replaced with material from a sidestream of the Finnish forest industry,” said Ms Torvinen in an article on an advertisement page in the daily Ilta-Sanomat in 2022. The European Union has defined graphite as a critical raw material, and according to CarbonScape, the envisaged production complies with the EU’s sustainability goals. According to CarbonScape, the product is carbon negative. Compared to synthetic and mined graphite. It saves up to 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of material. The temperature required by the process is only half that required for synthetic graphite, and the production takes hours instead of weeks. The investment is estimated to cost about EUR 40–50 million. CarbonScape expects to reach a market share close to 20% in Europe and the US by 2035.

Australia’s supplies of folding box board and other coated cartonboard grades are all imported, with a few major countries dominating. Based on trade declarations, Australia’s imports of raw cartonboard fell 6.9% in 2023-24, to a little less than 123,000 tonnes. Source: IndustryEdge When matched with small volumes of exports, that led the apparent consumption of cartonboard down to a record low 119,000 tonnes. Yeah. Nah. There is no chance consumption of cartonboard is that low, and in such structural decline. So, if that’s right, where’s the Cartonboard? Here’s what we think is happening. Until 2014, Australia manufactured coated cartonboard. Manufacturing occurred in Queensland, at Amcor’s Petrie Mill, which closed in 2014. Prior to the end of domestic manufacturing, the apparent consumption of Coated Cartonboard fluctuated around, but generally just below the 190,000 tonnes per annum level. In 2013-14, the apparent consumption function declined to around 131,000 tonnes, but that was due to an estimated 50,000 tonnes of inventory being supplied into what appeared to be a stable market. Imports – which after 2013-14 accounted for 100% of supply, are broken into four main grades (actually there are eleven, but IndustryEdge wraps them up to support sensible analysis). The aggregated import volumes can be seen below. It is the ‘General Bleached Cartonboard’ and potentially ‘Coated Kraft Back’ imports, where there has been largely continuous under-reporting of imports. General Bleached Cartonboard is used in a wide variety of applications, including food and beverage, pharmaceutical and healthcare, cosmetics, technology and fast-moving consumer goods packaging. Think about the boxes on supermarket shelves as well as the box your perfume or mobile phone came in. Coated Kraft Back is used mainly in wet and humid environments like refrigerators, where it is used to hold beverages and similar products. This grade might contain some semi-chemical pulp. In 2023-24, the main importers of Coated Cartonboard – all grades – were China (25%), New Zealand (21%), Chile (22%), Korea (15%) and the USA (12%).  IndustryEdge’s analysis suggests the volumes from Korea and the USA are an under-representation of their actual contribution to the Australian market. The annual delivery of almost the same volume of imports for much of the last decade and now an apparently declining volume belies the growth in the market for Coated Cartonboard. The market for Coated Cartonboard remains larger than the apparent consumption function suggests. The involvement in the domestic market of the integrated US producers, Graphic Packaging International (GPI) and of West Rock, appeared to contribute marginally to more accurate recording of Coated Cartonboard imports for a time, but ultimately, reported consumption slipped back to the same lower than expected levels. Largely due to improved reporting by the reinvigorated Whakatane Mills Limited in New Zealand, imports and therefore apparent consumption, of Cartonboard were reported more appropriately in 2021-22. However, the steep decline in 2022-23 (-22.8%) and the subsequent 6.9% retreat in 2023-24 to the point where apparent consumption is at decadal lows, is not consistent with industry experience. Supported by end-users and forensic analysis of trade flows, IndustryEdge’s analysis is that Coated Cartonboard imports may be under-reported by as much as 40,000 tonnes per annum, but by at least 30,000 tonnes per annum. Where is the cartonboard? It is important to state, in this modern era, there is no ‘conspiracy’ here, just simply the impact of importing remarkably similar paper and paperboard under many different import codes, where the difference is not the material, but rather, the end-use application. In that context, some Coated Cartonboard imports are be mis-classified, most likely recorded as Medium Weight Coated (MWC) mechanical grades of printing and communication papers. There are also some imports of Coated Woodfree (CWF) Reels >150 gsm that are expected to be Coated Cartonboard grades. The particular and main ‘culprit’ is the MWC grade manufactured from >55% mechanical pulp. Heavier grades of this printing paper – above around 180 gsm according to industry converters – are able to be used as lightweight cartonboard. MWC imports above 220 gsm are more likely to be cartonboard than they are printing paper. One importer has advised IndustryEdge they receive the product as MWC grades, but routinely supply it to a major cartonboard customer. The main countries impacted, as we outlined earlier, are the US and Korea. We base this assertion on analysis of specific trade transactions, including volumes and prices and flows into each state that are unlikely to be for printers and more likely to be for cartonboard converters. As the table below shows, since exactly the period (2013-14) that local production of Cartonboard ended, Australia saw a sustained explosion in imports of MWC Reels (not Sheets) containing >55% Mechanical Pulp. Of roughly 33,500 tonnes of imports in 2023-24, the USA and Korea supplied a little more than 31,900 tonnes. If there is a concern in this recalculation of import volumes as we seek to assess the real size of the Cartonboard market, it is ultimately that nearly all the imports of MWC Reels >55% Mechanical Pulp are actually a packaging product. If that is the case, we can wipe more than 30,000 tonnes more printing papers from what is already a massively contracted market. More information at www.industryedge.com.au

FSC Australia and New Zealand (FSC ANZ) sponsored the 25th Anniversary Katoomba Summit, themed ‘Real Value for Nature’, held in early October. This milestone event took place in Sydney ahead of the Global Nature Positive Summit. Source: Timberbiz Both events served as key platforms for advancing discussions on reversing biodiversity loss and scaling sustainable solutions. FSC ANZ’s CEO, Melanie Robertson, was actively engaged in the summit, representing FSC’s commitment to responsible forestry as part of a broader nature-positive vision. Founded in the late 1990s, the Katoomba Group has long been at the forefront of innovative environmental solutions. Comprising a global network of individuals and organisations from diverse sectors – government, finance, environmental groups, and academia – the Katoomba Group focuses on creating ecosystem service markets and driving sustainable investments. Over the last 25 years, the group has been instrumental in promoting ways to value natural capital, mobilise financing for conservation, and empower local communities and First Nations Peoples to steward their lands. This milestone summit, ‘Real Value for Nature’, celebrated their legacy and featured in-depth discussions on several critical issues: Pathways to Value: Highlighting the development of markets for ecosystem services and solutions that encourage sustainable investment. Risk to Value: Exploring strategies to manage climate and environmental risks while enhancing the resilience of ecosystems. Partnerships to Value: Promoting cross-sector collaborations to scale natural asset solutions and drive impactful change across industries. FSC’s sponsorship of the summit underscores its commitment to advancing sustainable forestry practices, aligning with the summit’s focus on innovative solutions for protecting ecosystems and supporting communities. In line with the discussions at the Katoomba Summit and Global Nature Positive Summit, FSC is pushing the boundaries of how forest impacts are monitored through its Verified Impact initiative. Verified Impact (formerly Ecosystem Services Claims) is FSC’s advanced system for capturing high-quality climate and nature data from FSC-certified forests. This system matches businesses, financial institutions, and governments to ecosystem-services projects that not only maintain but also enhance forest health. Through Verified Impact, project sponsors gain access to credible, verified data on the environmental and social impact of their activities, which can then be communicated to their stakeholders. This upgraded system is designed to help organisations disclose high-integrity forest data and demonstrate their true impact on climate, biodiversity, and local communities. The Global Nature Positive Summit convened global leaders on Gadigal Land (Sydney) to address the urgent need for a nature-positive future. With a strong emphasis on First Nations leadership, the summit sought to align efforts to reverse biodiversity loss and secure a healthy, sustainable future for all. FSC ANZ CEO Melanie Robertson attended the summit and highlighted the critical role of FSC in this global movement: “Sustainably managed forests, certified to FSC’s rigorous standards, play a crucial role in contributing to a nature-positive future. By safeguarding biodiversity, enhancing community livelihoods, and empowering Indigenous Peoples, FSC-certified forestry offers a pathway to addressing climate challenges while fostering resilience for generations to come,” she said. As the summit drew to a close, the call for action was clear: protecting nature requires cross-sectoral collaboration, strong leadership, and practical solutions like those provided by FSC’s verified sustainable forestry practices.