JAPANESE COMPANY TO BUILD WOODCHIP FACTORY IN MAPUTO

A Japanese company, Sojitz Corporation, has established a subsidiary in Mozambique to process and export woodchips, the raw material in the manufacturing of paper. It plans to invest 10 million US dollars in building a wood processing factory at Maputo port.Sojitz Maputo Cellulose Limitada (SOMACEL) intends to open its woodchip factory this year, which will be capable of supplying 200,000 BDT (bone dry tonnes) of woodchips to Japan annually.SOMACEL will use the Maputo Corridor to import logs from South Africa and Swaziland.This is Sojitz’s first woodchip manufacturing business in Africa, and is in response to a growing demand for the raw material in China and other Asian countries.Sojitz has invested heavily in securing its supply of timber elsewhere. In Vietnam the company has supported the creation of 46,000 hectares of forest by providing finance to farmers and supplying free saplings. It intends to follow a similar path in southern Africa.