Declining costs for sawlogs and pulplogs in Brazil and Chile over the past few years have made the forest industry in the two countries quite competitive. In the 2Q/13, pulplog prices in both countries were among the lowest in the world and sawlog prices were substantially below the Global Sawlog Price Index GSPI.

The wood costs for pulp and lumber manufacturers in the two largest producing countries in Latin America, Brazil and Chile, have fallen during much of 2012 and 2013, and were in the 2Q/13 at the lowest levels in over two years, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (www.woodprices.com). The two countries currently have
some of the lowest wood raw-material costs in the world, and since these costs account for 55 to 65% of the production costs when manufacturing pulp and lumber, it makes the industry quite competitive in the export market.