|
.
. |
| Forest Industry |
| The
Bolivian forest industry is based almost exclusively on solid wood products. The companies
are predominantly small and medium-sized, where the technology being used is, at many
times, out of date.
The Bolivian forest industry includes
sawmills, veneer and plywood mills, reconstituted panels mills and value added product
facilities.
Thus, the products manufactured by the Bolivian forest
industry are in relative terms very diversified (see table 05).
Table 05 - Main Products
Manufactured by the Bolivian Forestry Industry
GROUPS |
Main
Products |
| Sawnwood |
Planks,
boards, beams, surfaced boards, sleepers and others |
| Veneer |
Sliced venner
and rotary cut veneer |
| Plywood |
Structural plywood and decorative
plywood |
| Reconstituted Panels |
Particleboard,
veneer coated particleboard, melamine coated particleboard, hardboard coated
particleboard, hardboard, painted hardboard, and wood veneer coated hardboard. |
| Value Added Products (VAP) |
Doors, widows,
frames, mouldings, flooring (parquet), finger joints products (edge glue panel, fames and
others), tongue and groove products, funeral urns, handicrafts, stairways, furniture
components and parts, furniture (tables, chairs, chests of drawers, benches and sofas)
carved chairs amongst others. |
|
| The
Bolivian forest industry is concentrated mainly in the Provinces of Santa Cruz, Cochabamba
and La Paz.
The installed capacity of the Bolivian forest industry is
very small in comparison with potential represented by the existing forest resources in
the country (see table 06). |
Table 06 – Installed Capacity for the Bolivian Forest Industry
PRODUCT |
FACTORIES |
INSTALLED
CAPACITY(1) |
TOTAL |
AVERAGE |
Sawnwood |
308 |
1,500,000 m3/year |
4,900 m3/year |
Veneer
. Sliced
. Rotary Cut |
3
2
|
8,400,000 m2/year
61,000 m3/year
|
2,800,000 m2/year
30,500 m3/year
|
Plywood |
2 |
41,000 m3/year |
20,500 m3/year |
Particleboard |
1 |
30,000 m3/year |
30,000 m3/year |
Hardboard |
1 |
45,000 m3/year |
45,000 m3/year |
Value Added
Products (VAP)(2) |
700 |
220,000 m3/year |
315 m3/year |
|
(1) Operating
under 2 shifts
(2) Sawnwood processing capacity
Source: ITTO, prepared and updated by STCP |
The data available points out
that in Bolivia, the installed capacity of forest industry is much higher than the current
production levels (see table 07).
Table 07 - Bolivian Forest Industry
Production (1999) |
PRODUCT |
PRODUCTION |
INSTALLED
CAPACITY(1) |
OPERATING
RATE
(%) |
Sawnwood |
500,000 m3 |
1,500,000 m3/year |
30 |
Veneer
. Sliced
. Rotary Cut |
3,300,000 m2
32,000 m3
|
8,400,000 m2/year
61,000 m3/year
|
39
52
|
Plywood |
22,000 m3 |
41,000 m3/year |
54 |
Reconstituted Panels
. Particleboard
. Hardboard(2) |
15,000 m3
25,000 m3
|
30,000 m3/year
45,000 m3/year
|
50
56
|
Value Added
Products (VAP)(3) |
100,000 m3 |
220,000 m3/year |
46 |
|
(1) Operating
under 2 shifts
(2) Temporarily suspended
(3) Sawnwood processing capacity
Prepared by STCP |
A substantial
increases in production could be obtained just by a better utilization of the existing
installed capacity and this would increase significantly the use level of the forest
resources.
It is important to note that the technology
used by the Bolivian forest industry is almost exclusively centered on the import of
capital goods owing to the absence of domestic machinery and equipment manufacturers.
Furthermore, the investments in machinery and equipment as
well as in labor training and education are very limited. |
|
