Paraguay
Mercosur
Mercosur or the Southern Common Market (Mercado Común del Sur in Spanish) is a regional trade agreement (and free trade zone) between the South American countries of Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela and Paraguay. It was established in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción to promote free trade between these countries. It joins together over 220 million people with a gross domestic product of about one trillion dollars a year. and is a counterweight to NAFTA, an association of a similar nature that links countries in North and Central America.
Paraguay
Geography
The country is located in the heart of South America, bordering Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the north and Argentina to the south and west. Historical Paraguay lies in the east, which is the heart of today’s state and whose center is Asunción, the capital, with a population of 4,500,000. Compared to the savannas in the northern Gran Chaco region of the country, the terrain is mountainous with tree savannas, wetlands and the last remnants of the natural rainforest. The Parana River is one of the main transit arteries from the country to Buenos Aires and the Atlantic Ocean.
Climate
Paraguay is situated in the Southern Hemisphere straddling both sides of the Tropic of Capricorn. There is a high level of precipitation in the subtropical climate found in the eastern part of the country (where our company’s activities are located) with an annual total of 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters (for comparison, Bratislava has only 620 millimeters) and many hours of sunshine during the entire year. Most of the year the air is humid and temperatures reach 40 °C, while in the winter months of July to August the thermometer may drop somewhat below zero.
History
The native tribes of Guarani settled in Paraguay in precolonial times. In 1524, Europeans and the Guarani met for the first time. Because the Guarani had suffered losses in wars and also from a shortage of men, foreigners were more than welcomed to settle and the people are quite gender conscious. This has lasted to this day. No other country in South America has such a mix of nationalities and cultures of such intensity. After a number of political developments, Paraguay has been a democratic country since 1993.
Forests in Paraguay
Paraguay’s original vegetation consisted of more than 80 percent rainforest, which along with forests in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay comprised a majority of all virgin forests. However, increased cutting in the 20th century destroyed most of these unique forests and transformed them into farmland.
Currently, less than 10% of Paraguay is composed of natural and largely reclaimed forests. Although the cutting of trees has slowed, it has not been completely halted. Each year, approximately 30,000 to 40,000 hectares of forested land is destroyed. The adoption of new laws has stopped the cutting.
Market Situation and Competition in Paraguay
Wood grows approximately four to fivefold faster in Paraguay’s subtropical climate zone than at the latitudes of Central Europe, where in cooler months there is practically no wood growth at all. Wage and management costs will remain significantly lower than in Central European forestry. Wood and wood chips as biomass are being sold mainly in industrial areas surrounding the Paraguayan capital Asunción. Raw wood has become particularly desirable as biomass in the face of new laws.
Biomass
Biomass combustion generates process heat, which in the economic center of Paraguay is required by the different processing sectors there, such as drying grain and soybeans, soy bean processing, alcohol and sugar manufacturing, coal and gas production, industrial manufacturing of Coca-Cola, brewing beer and producing particle board and pulp. None of them can imagine a future without biomass.
It is probable to assume a reliable market situation because of these needs. Total biomass demand by these neighboring companies is currently about 30,000 tonnes a month.
Biomass has to be delivered continuously at a constant particleboard size and moisture content. Securing it is one of the jobs our group does in Paraguay.
The most recent studies on timber consumption in Paraguay show the volume of legally harvested timber now exceeding real consumption. The difference is presently covered by illegal harvesting of the remaining 700,000 forests and jungle. However, the largest consumers are no longer willing to buy illegally harvested timber because of sanctions. These companies’ needs are currently covered by several forest plantations and imports, with current woodchip inventories falling slightly. In addition, the capacity of the wood-processing industry is constantly expanding due to increasing agricultural and industrial production. These factors will lead to an increased shortage of biomass stocks within a time frame of one to two years.
Timber
The demand for saw wood is similarly rising. Lumber companies have event been recently considering the relocation of production to the border area with Brazil, leading to shorter transport routes, faster processing and lower costs. The situation is advantageous for the reafforestation sector located in region around the capital.
There are currently about 11,000 hectares of afforested land or land designated for afforestation registered in the greater Asunción area. Here S.A. A. Real Foresting Group manages 3,000 hectares of land, of which 100,000 hectares of timber can be harvested in future in the first cycle of a growing trend in coming years. Thanks to the constant accumulation of large quantities of lumber, long-term supply contracts can be signed with favorable conditions. Only one other company besides S. A. Real Foresting Group is sustainably reforesting more than 500 hectares in Paraguay,
giving S.A. Real Foresting Group an opportunity to become a market leader in the region, especially in the field of high quality biomass.
| Long name | Long name Republic of Paraguay (República del Paraguay) | |
| Short name | Paraguay | |
| Capital | Asunción | |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guarani | |
| System of government President |
Presidential republic Santiago Peña |
|
| Established | 15 May 1811 | |
| Neighboring countries | Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil | |
| Area • total • % water |
406 752 km² 2,3 % |
|
| Population (2015) | 7 012 433 | |
| Currency | Guarani (PYG) | |
| Time zone | UTC-4 | |
| International registration plate | PY | |
| Country code | +595 | |
| Source: Wikipedia | ||
Bolivia
Bolivia and Mercosur
On 17 July 2017, Bolivia became an associate member of Mercosur, the common market linking the South American countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Paraguay and Bolivia), where a year earlier it had been an observer country. Bolivia’s accession has opened up new economic opportunities for the country. Modern Bolivia optimally combines the political, economic and climatic conditions necessary for prosperous investment and tropical forest management. From a political perspective, the country has been stable for years. Bolivia has been independent since 1825, with a presidential system and representative democracy composed of several political parties. The current president is continually pushing for a comprehensive modernization of his country. The framework conditions for this project cannot be more favorable as the country is characterized by a remarkably young, rising population with high dynamic potential. No wonder social and economic development as a whole has also been characterized by strong growth. In order to ensure economic stability, the country decided many years ago to diversify its economy and seek to attract other investors to finance new industries.
Geography and Economy
Bolivia is situated in the central region of South America and has an area of 1,098,581 square kilometers. The southwestern part covers the peaks of the Andes, while the central area of the country is composed of the Altiplano Plateau. The northern and eastern edges of Bolivia jut into the lower reaches of the Amazon Basin rain forests and the Gran Chaco in the Paraná River floodplain. Bolivia lost access to the Pacific Ocean coast in 1879 after the Pacific War. The country is rich in mineral resources such as gold, zinc, silver, lead and antimony ores, as well as oil and natural gas. So far only a relatively small percentage of these resources have been exploited and exported. Alongside government-supported oil processing, ore treatment and metal production, the country is industrially underdeveloped in the production of food and consumer goods. The population’s main income comes from agriculture and breeding cattle.
Climate
Bolivia has almost exclusively a tropical climate, except for a dry alpine climate in the Andes. However, precipitation levels are unevenly distributed, reaching 2,000 millimeters in the northeast and dropping to 200 millimeters in the southwest. Relatively little rain falls on the cold Altiplano Plateau and precipitation dwindles further toward the south. Average temperatures in the capital of La Paz in the Andes fluctuate between 8 °C in July and 12 °C in December, while in Santa Cruz de la Sierra it ranges from 24 °C in May to 32 °C in November.
History
The country was once part of the Spanish kingdom of Rio de la Plata, called Upper Peru before it declared independence on 6 August 1825. The new state was named after the South American freedom fighter Simon Bolivar. Wars with neighboring countries weakened Bolivia and led to losses in territory. A war with Chile (1879-1883) resulted in the loss of the Atacama region and its only access to the sea, which had an impact on the country’s economic development.
| Long name | Plurinational State of Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia) |
| Short name | Bolivia |
| Capital | Sucre |
| Largest city | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Official languages | Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani |
| System of government President |
Unitary presidential republic Luis Arce |
| Established | 21 July 1847 |
| Neighboring countries | Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru |
| Area • total • (%) water |
1 098 581 km² 1.29 % |
| Population (2015) | 11 410 651 |
| Currency | Bolivian boliviano (BOB) |
| Time zone | (UTC-4) |
| International code | BO |
| Country code | +591 |
| Source: wikipedia.org |
