 Uruguay seeks Finnish investment in timber industry. Timber and furniture industry representatives from Finland are visiting Uruguay this week, exploring investments to expand the sector in the South American country. The visit is part of the Uruguay-Finland 2015 Timber and Furniture Forum organized by the Foreign Ministry with support from the Uruguay XXI Investment and Export Promotion Institute. “We have identified Finland as a target market to expand in new sectors, adding to the forestry production we have,” Alvaro Inchauspe, general manager of Uruguay XXI, told Efe. “The idea is to attract capital from small- and medium-sized Finnish companies” to develop additional areas of the timber industry, such as the production of wood components and doors, going beyond the exploitation “of cellulose and unprocessed wood” already occurring in Uruguay, Inchauspe said. “We focus on small- and medium-sized businesses because they are the foundation of the economic structure in this sector, both in our country and in Finland,” Inchauspe said. The Finnish delegation includes executives from the Finnish Association of Timber and Furniture Industries and 11 companies. “Uruguay and Finland share values and a philosophy,” Foreign Ministry director general for economic affairs Luis Bermudez said at the opening of the gathering. Forestry “has grown at a steady pace over the past 25 years” and “along with climate and soil conditions that are excellent for timber production,” Uruguay is able to generate added value through industrial processing, Uruguay XXI said. The Finnish business delegation will visit Uruguayan companies and organizations working with the timber industry. |
