Irani exits pine chemicals, offers factory

Spanish Market: Chemicals
26/03/25

Brazilian paper and packaging company Irani is to exit the pine chemicals market, it said today.

The Rio Grande do Sul-based company will stop distilling pine oleoresin feedstock at its Balneario Pinhal facility. Pine oleoresin is a raw material for gum rosin and gum turpentine production.

Irani will offer the pine chemicals site as partial payment for the acquisition of around 1,856 hectares of land, of which 1,236 hectares are planted with Pinus elliottii in Sao Jose do Norte, from Flopal Florestadora Palmares, Irani said in a document filed with the Brazilian stock exchange.

Irani will pay 37mn reals ($6.46mn) for the land. The company will offer its plant, including the site and its assets, for R20mn and pay an additional R17mn in cash when the deal closes.

Irani subsidiary Habitasul Florestal will lease other existing forests and the acquired forest area in Rio Grande do Sul to Ambar Florestal for 10 years, the document said. Ambar, owned by Flopal, is a major pine oleoresin supplier in Rio Grande do Sul.

Irani expects the acquired area to produce 1,600 t/yr of pine oleoresin in 2025 and 2026, and estimates that combined pine oleoresin output from 2025 to 2038 will reach 29,000t.

When leasing pine areas, forest owners in Brazil typically receive a portion of the revenues from oleoresin extraction, which Irani estimated in the agreement at 20-30pc.

Rio Grande do Sul is Brazil's second-largest pine oleoresin-producing region after Sao Paulo state.

By Leonardo Siqueira

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