Reduced harvest volume, increased production volumes, higher yield

The harvest volume for logs was 160 300 m³, 15 % lower than in the previous year. Heavy rainfalls came much too early in September and severely restricted harvesting activities. We were not able to fell the entire volume, and approximately 25 000 m³ of logs will not be harvested until the summer of 2022. The sawmill processed 162 400 m³ of wood, 1.3 % less than in the previous year. Yield increased again. This resulted in 3.5 % higher sawn timber production, totalling 39 600 m³ (previous year: 38 300 m³). The production year started in mid-January. The annual maintenance work in the sawmill was carried out in June, at the same time as the interruption in production due to the diminished log inventory. At that time, the delayed evacuation of 30 000 m³ from the forest from the 2020 harvest caused difficulties in processing. The staffing shortfall at the public authorities due to the pandemic also led to various impediments in harvesting activities in 2021. The harvest permit for the second part of our forest areas was delayed again by about two months. Although this interrupted harvesting activities, furloughs were avoided. We built a new temporary camp in the harvesting area to accommodate roughly 180 employees. The camp is temporary because it will operate only for two harvesting periods, after which the regular camps with permanent installations will become active again.

Unfortunately, the maintenance costs for forestry machinery were relatively high due to the age of the machinery. We will therefore replace part of the machinery in 2022. The additional line for short logs in the sawmill had a positive effect. In addition, we were again able to produce for the local market, allowing us to process non-exportable wood species with a higher yield. The fight against illegal timber trade by the authorities continues, which we very much welcome. Based on these activities, we expect to be able to count on local demand in 2022 again. We are therefore planning to further expand our activities and establish a small sawn timber warehouse in São Paulo. We will be able to achieve higher average prices in this region than in the Manaus region, but we will have to accept a loss in yield.