Eucalyptus Brazilian ArborGen Launches Seedling Business
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"While integrated producers have had access to elite Eucalyptus genetics for many years, these genetics have not been available to independent growers. With this agreement, ArborGen will, for the first time, make available to those growers seedlings with the yield and other traits that come with these advanced, proprietary products," said Gabriela Bassa, managing director of ArborGen do Brazil. "The Luis Antonio nursery is the first in a series of planned nursery developments that we will use to enable us to eventually supply the entire Brazilian market over time."
The Brazilian forestry industry is one of the largest, fastest growing in the world; Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of hardwood pulp. The Eucalyptus market consumes approximately one billion seedlings per year. Private landowners have relied on older, publicly available varieties that do not offer the benefits that come from using advanced genetics. Results from extensive research trials and full scale production suggest that the new Varietals ArborGen is offering will be superior to those currently in use by private landowners.
ArborGen established ArborGen do Brazil in 2004 as a product and business development center. The company has been working with several large integrated Eucalyptus pulp and paper companies for several years to develop genetically modified Eucalyptus products, and has conducted extensive field trials with these potential products. "The expansion into the traditional Eucalyptus seedling business will allow us to offer a comprehensive portfolio of technologies and products to the Brazilian forest sector," said Bassa.
