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More Wood Pulp Needed for Paper Making in China
The State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) announced Thursday that China will develop more timber production bases for the paper making industry, in a bid to satisfy the demand for wood pulp.
The country's paper producers are shifting the raw material of paper from straw pulp to wood pulp, in order to reduce the pollution paper mills and increase the quality of paper products, said Liu Tienan, an SDPC official.
Wood pulp accounted for 20 percent of the country's raw material for paper last year, and 60 percent of the wood pulp used in China was imported. However, in the world's paper industry, 90 percent of the raw material for paper is wood pulp on average.
Since logging has been banned in natural forests by the Chinese government, the industry has to find other resources for the wood pulp, Liu noted.
Insiders said that the government allows enterprises to develop forests for commercial purpose, which offers a solution for paper producers. They are encouraged to invest in timber production bases.
The government will provide some preferential policies, such as loans, interest discount and tax cuts, said Liu.
With these policies, the acreage of the forests for paper making is expected to reach 2.6 million hectares in five years' time, which will be able to provide 32 million cubic meters of timber to produce more than 8 million tons of wood pulp.
China consumed 35.2 million tons of paper and cardboard in 2000, ranking second in the world. The demand is expected to soar in the next five years, with biodegradable paper products taking the place of less environmentally friendly plastic products.
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