Asunción, 20 July 2023. The headquarters of the Paraguayan Investment and Export Network (REDIEX), under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIC), hosted a session on exchange of experiences between Paraguay and Uruguay on policies for the development of the forestry sector.

At the meeting, Carlos Faroppa, Director General of Forestry of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay, and Leonardo Boragno, advisor to the Directorate General of Forestry, presented the main public policies and best practices implemented in the development of forestry. Uruguay's forestry sector, considered a regional benchmark in forestry production and timber exports.

The meeting emphasised the need to strong governance and coordination between policies and tools to achieve long-term and sustainable development of the forestry sector. The importance of a forestry law was also highlighted, along with fiscal and economic incentives, as well as the need to develop credit instruments compatible with the sector's requirements, the obtaining of international certifications for access to foreign markets, the capacity of foreign direct investment to promote technology and the capacity of the forestry sector to generate quality employment, compared to other activities in the primary sector.

This session concluded two days of field work, during which Carlos Faroppa and Leonardo Boragno, accompanied by José Ayala Brun, a specialist from REDIEX-MIC's Forestry and Floriculture Platform, visited forestry plantations and timber industries in the departments of Alto Paraná and Caazapá.