Russia ups pulp, paper output in 2002

Russian increased pulp and paper production by 6% and 2.5% respectively in 2002, an official the forestry department at the Industry, Science and Technology Ministry told Interfax. The country's pulp-and-paper mills produced 5.6 million tonnes of pulp and 3.53 million tonnes of paper last year. The official attributed the growth to the approximately 20 vertically integrated holding companies that produce about 90% of the country's pulp and paper. Pulp production grew 10% to 528,000 tonnes at the Syktyvkar forestry complex; 8.5% to 730,500 tonnes at the Arkhangelsk Pulp-and-paper Mill, 5.8% to 214,800 tonnes at the Solombalsky Pulp-and-paper Mill; 3% to 900,300 tonnes at the Kotlas Pulp-and-paper Mill; 4.5% to 350,600 tonnes at the Svetogorsk Pulp-and-paper Mill; and 7.3% to 206,000 tonnes at the Baikal Pulp-and-paper Mill. The leading paper producers were Syktyvkar, Svetogorsk and Kotlas, which increased output by respectively 5.8%, 14.5% and 6% to 514,000 tonnes, 255,000 tonnes and 240,000 tonnes. Cardboard production increased 10% to 2.4 million tonnes last year. Most pulp-and-paper mills have reached full capacity in 2002, and new production capacity will have to be added for further growth, the ministry official said. The Industry, Science and Technology Ministry has drafted a project to build a new pulp-and-paper mill in the village of Neya in Kostroma region with capacity of 400,000 tonnes of pulp, he said. "The cost of construction would be about $900 million, and sources of financing are not being considered yet," he added.