Cultivating Forests

[Anchor Lead]

Korea imports more than 80 percent of its lumber from overseas. To boost the nation’s self-supply of wood, a Korean public corporation has begun growing a forest in Paraguay. In fact, many countries are competing for growing their own forests in the Latin American country.

[Pkg]

A forest located some 180 kilometers from the capital of Paraguay, Asunción. The 300-hectare eucalyptus plantation is cultivated by a South Korean public corporation. Workers thin out the trees that were planted four years ago. They have grown to stand 14 meters tall. Wood chips made of the eucalyptus trees grown here are expected to bring in around one hundred million won in sales revenues. These plants grow three times faster than Korean pine trees and don't require high labor costs. Over the past five years, many other countries including the U.S., Germany and Sweden have set up cooperatives and funds to cultivate their own forests in Paraguay.

[Soundbite] CEO of Forest Development Company : "Forest cultivation costs are lower in Paraguay than in other South American countries like Argentina or Brazil."

Korean private businesses are also stepping up efforts to cultivate forests overseas to diversify wood sources, which so far have been mostly concentrated in Asia.