MINSK, 16 November (BelTA) – Specialists from Venezuela are getting familiar with the new technologies used by Belarusian arborists to plan, cultivate and procure wood. A group of forestry experts from Venezuela arrived in Belarus on 16 November on a working visit, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Forestry Ministry Ruzhena Novitskaya told BelTA. The delegation includes Head of Venezuela’s Central Agency for Agriculture and Forestry Tomas Rodriguez, Managing Director for Timberland Utilization Jorge Galindes, and President of the woodworking company of the Bolivarian Alliance Nestor Zambrano. On the first day of the visit the specialists met with Belarusian Forestry Minister Piotr Semashko. The sides agreed cooperation terms for the near future and reached an agreement regarding collaboration in the long-term period. The Venezuelan specialists are interested in Belarusian forestry practices from forest planting to milling. At present a government program is being implemented in Venezuela to forest the areas which are not used in the national economy. Every year some 14,000 hectares of new forests are planted but the program plans to increase the number up to 60,000 hectares. In Belarus the Venezuelan specialists plan to get familiar with Belarusian practices of forestation and forest regeneration, to learn what technologies are used to prepare the soil, to plant trees and look after them. Venezuela mainly produces Caribbean pines, which can be harvested after 18 years. The country is interested in cultivating common pines, too, which can reach merchantable wood condition after 70-80 years. The quality of the latter is much higher. The Venezuelan specialists are also interested in Belarusian machines, which are used for harvesting and transporting timber. The guests plan to get familiar with the operation of several Belarusian forestry enterprises, the Belgosles company, the National Forest Selection and Seed Production Center and to visit the Belarusian State Technological University, which is the country’s leading institution for training forestry industry personnel. They will also get familiar with the machines used to prepare the soil, plant trees, and harvest the forest. The specialists are expected to hold talks with the Belarusian mechanical engineering company Amkodor about buying such machines. “Belarus makes special forest harvesters, this is why we would like to see their operation,” remarked Managing Director for Timberland Utilization Jorge Galindes. “They may be suitable for our forests”. President of the woodworking company Nestor Zambrano outlined plans for developing timber processing in Venezuela. The construction of six new mills is in progress. They will manufacture various kinds of pressed boards, furniture and paper. A paper mill will be able to turn out 250,000 cubic meters per annum. The production of wood chips is supposed to start soon. The Venezuelan specialists intend to learn something new and useful in Belarus where the production of wood chips is well-established. The specialists will be able to get familiar with Belarusian forestry science achievements in the Forest Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. They are also expected to visit the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange as well as two companies of the Belarusian state forestry concern — Minskprojectmebel and Molodechnomebel. At the end of the visit the Forestry Ministry will hold talks on 20 November with a view to promoting cooperation between government agencies and business circles of the Belarusian and Venezuelan forestry industries. БЕЛТА
Written by belta.by
