07/23/2026
This is what is happening all over the world while we watch. The rest of the world has a long-term outlook to “win the race” while companies that control the United States markets can’t see past next quarter. WAKE UP America…we are losing the race. Forestry is a long term commitment that requires a long-term outlook. We are beholden to companies that are run by executives that are only focused on short-term profit maximization because it maximizes their compensation right now. We need to get in the long game with the others before it's too late. We are at a crossroads of remaining a consumer culture that's doomed to fail or regaining our producers culture. The loggers are on board...how about the rest of the industry.
Paracel Is Building Paraguay's Forestry Industry Before the Pulp Mill
Paracel is usually described as Paraguay's future pulp mill. The more important development in 2026 is the industrial system being built around it: eucalyptus plantations, a private river port, electricity infrastructure, access roads and the arrival of Brazilian plywood producer Sudati. Together, these elements could turn northern Paraguay into a new forestry and wood-processing cluster.
The standard description of Paracel — Paraguay's first large-scale pulp mill — is accurate, but it no longer captures the project's current stage.
Commercial pulp production has not started. In 2026, the company is developing the plantations and infrastructure required to support the future mill and a wider industrial hub in Paso Horqueta, in the department of Concepción.
The planned plant is designed to produce up to 1.8 million tonnes of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp per year. If completed at that scale, it would move Paraguay into the same industrial category as major pulp-producing locations in Brazil and Uruguay.
Infrastructure before production
In March 2026, IDB Invest approved financing of up to USD 165 million for forestry and enabling infrastructure connected to the project. The financing supports the private river port, electricity transmission, access roads and logistics systems.
This is an important project milestone, but it should not be confused with completion or full financing of the pulp mill. The current works create the physical platform on which the future industrial operation depends.
Paracel reported in May 2026 that approximately 100,000 hectares had already been planted, representing around 110 million trees. The company's wider forestry program covers approximately 203,000 hectares.
Sudati turns the project into a cluster
The planned arrival of Brazilian plywood producer Sudati changes the project's industrial logic. Paracel announced an expected Sudati investment of approximately USD 215 million within the industrial hub.
For the first time, the site has a concrete second industry rather than a single pulp factory. Different sections and qualities of harvested timber could be directed toward pulp, plywood, energy products, biochar or other materials.
Shared roads, electricity and port infrastructure could also lower the cost of establishing further wood-processing operations in northern Paraguay.
The river is part of the business model
Paracel plans to transport pulp by barge along the Paraguay River and the Río de la Plata to an ocean terminal in Uruguay. From there, the product would be transferred to seagoing vessels serving markets including Asia and Europe.
The company has referred to an initial fleet of 19 barges. This links Paracel directly to the Paraguay-Paraná waterway and to the logistical advantages and risks of a landlocked export economy.
River transport can reduce costs, but low water levels, dredging requirements, navigation restrictions and limited transshipment capacity can affect reliability.
A new industrial scale for Paraguay
According to INFONA, Paraguay exported approximately 197,000 tonnes of forestry products in 2025. Paracel's planned annual pulp capacity would be more than nine times that physical volume.
The products are not directly comparable, but the scale illustrates the potential structural change. Paracel could create technical employment, supplier demand, forestry services and new processing industries in Concepción.
It could also increase regional dependence on one major project, one plantation system and one export corridor.
Paracel's decisive product in 2026 is not yet pulp. It is the industrial platform intended to make pulp production and a wider Paraguayan forestry cluster possible.
