PINE TAPPING INSOUTH AMERICA

Alex CUNNINGHAM alexcunn@gmail.com

areldorado.com.ar

2015 China Gum Rosin Trade Conference July 2015 – Chengdu, SC, CHINA

Chalenges Facing our Industry in South Americaand all over the World!

NATURAL VERSUS PLANTED FORESTS

• Natural (low density / slow growing) versus Planted (high density / fast growing).• Huge initiall investment.• Very good knowledge of what and where to plant.

PINE TAPPING TECHNIQUE

• We have been doing the same for decades (or centuries)!

HAND LABOUR VERSUS MECHANIZATION

• Labour efficiency from a few tons to 25 tons of Pine Oleo Resin produced per worker per year depending on the location of the operation.

• To produce 1.000.000 tons of Pine Oleo Resin per year in the best scenario we need around 40.000 workers, in the worst scenario (poor and inefficient tappint technique) the number rises to some hundred of thousand!

What are we doing to improve the “tapping technique” ?

• Not too much! Based in current global situation…

H2O

CO2SOLAR LIGHT

MICRONUTRIENTS

FOTOSYNTHESIS BIOSYNTHESIS

LIVE

DEFEND

SUGARS

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

SECONDARY METABOLITESPINE RESIN (TERPENES), OTHERS.

PRIMARY METABOLITESCELULOSE, LIGNIN, OTHERS.

COST/BENEFIT

A little of plant physiology !

Where crude gum is produced in South America ?

TROPIC OFCAPRICORN

Tropical pines:P. car. var. caribaeaP. car. var. hondurensisP. car. var. bahamensisP. oocarpa

Subtropical pines:P. elliottii

Pine Oleo Resin Production in South AmericaBRAZIL

P. elliottii var. ElliottiiP. caribaea var. CaribaeaP. caribaea var. HondurensisP. caribaea var. BahamensisP. oocarpa

120.000 Tons of Pine Oleo Resin / year~ 14 Gum Rosin Plants

ARGENTINA

P. elliottii var. Elliottii 35.000 Tons of Pine Oleo Resin / year3 Gum Rosin Plants

URUGUAY

P. elliottii var. Elliottii Small pine tapping operation since 2014.

THANK YOU!