Page 56 - FDMAsia Jul/Aug 2026

54 MATERIALS JUL/AUG 2026 FDM ASIA | www.fdmasia.com

PICRYL (1 USD = 5.20 BRL).
Production cost in motor-manual forest cutting was estimated
per cubic metre of wood produced, considering total operating
cost per effective working hour and productivity.
The forest had an average height of 26 m and an average
diameter of 18 cm, variables that strongly influence both

operational productivity and production costs.
The costs per cubic metre were multiplied by the volume
per hectare (255.5 m³) to obtain the cost per hectare of the
activity. The per-hectare costs for extraction, loading, and road
maintenance activities were determined from the average
the Köppen classification, characterised by mild temperatures, values of outsourcing service contracts.
rainy summers, and dry winters. The average annual temperature Forest road transport cost was determined per effective
is 21.8 deg C, and the average annual rainfall is 1,314.2 mm. working hour and multiplied by the vehicle's operational cycle
The soil in the region is predominantly Red-Yellow Latosol, time to determine the cost per cycle.

with low natural fertility. The cost per cycle was then divided by the vehicle's cargo
The harvesting system used was cut-to-length (CTL), in capacity, providing the cost per cubic metre transported. Finally,
which timber shorter than six metres was processed within the this value was multiplied by the wood volume per hectare,
stand. Felling and processing were performed using a motor- resulting in the cost per hectare.
manual system with a chainsaw operator and an assistant. Revenues were calculated based on the average wood
Extraction and loading operations were performed manually volume per hectare and the selling price per cubic metre of
by an outsourced crew. Transportation was carried out by a wood delivered to the recycled paper mill.

medium-capacity truck (25 m³). The adopted selling price (USD 29.61 m⁻³) corresponded
to the contractual price established between the producer and
Data Collection And Cost Estimation the purchasing mill, which was consistent with the prevailing
Operational and economic data were obtained through regional market price at the time of data collection.
structured interviews with eight forest producers operating Because this contractual price remained fixed throughout
within the study area. the planning horizon, timber price was treated as a deterministic
The interviewed producers were selected because they parameter rather than as a stochastic input in the Monte Carlo
conducted commercial eucalyptus harvesting under operational simulation.
conditions similar to those evaluated in this study. The influence of timber price on project viability was

The information collected included operational costs, labour evaluated separately through deterministic threshold analysis.
requirements, fuel consumption, and productivity parameters
used to estimate harvesting and transportation costs. Economic Indicators And Scenarios
The collected information was subsequently validated by The following economic viability indicators were determined:
comparison with values reported in the literature. The monetary Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Average
currency in Brazilian Reais (BRL) was converted to US dollars Production Cost (APC), and Equivalent Annual Value (EAV). An
(USD) based on the official exchange rate of 27 January 2026 interest rate of 7.00 percent per year was adopted.