Stora Enso started establishing plantations in China in 2002, and has now identified a potential mill site by the South China Sea in the Guangxi Autonomous Region. Guangxi is conveniently located close to regions of China where paper consumption is highest, and also near the rapidly growing Vietnamese market. Stora Enso’s aims in Guangxi are:

• to establish a low cost fibre supply for a state-of-the-art pulp and paper integrate.
• to establish an integrated forest-pulp-paper industry in southern Guangxi together with a Chinese partner.

Facts about Guangxi

• Guangxi is in southern China, some 800 km west of Hong Kong.
• Plantations with a total area of about 14 000 ha have been established by December 2004, and the target is to have over 100 000 ha of plantation by 2010.
• The plantation lands are owned by the state or collectively owned by the local people.
• Plantations are only established on land that has been designated for forestry purposes by the Chinese government.
• The main tree species is eucalyptus (urograndis hybrids).
• The mean annual increment is expected to be 24 m³/ha of wood (solid under bark).
• Planting work has been outsourced to local firms.
• The plantations currently have about 70 permanent employees, as well as about 20 contractors and 1 000 additional labourers during the peak time.