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 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090018-7

all private lands be conducted in such a way that satisfactory natural regeneration would occur. The Private Forestry Board has the responsibility of supervising the provincial forestry boards in order to achieve uniformity in the interpretation and enforcement of forestry laws. Forestry education and research are conducted under the direction of the Royal Academy of Forestry and Agriculture. The Royal School of Forestry trains people to fill higher positions on the Board of Crown Lands and Forests, the Private Forestry Board, forest owners' associations, and private companies.

Sweden is engaged in a 20-year afforestation and reforestation program, begun in 1954, to improve the quality and quantity of the timber growth. The program is concerned with prompt regeneration of cut-over areas, intensive silvicultural methods, and drainage of boggy forests. Consolidation of private holdings has been undertaken to promote efficient cutting and clearing and to release forest workers to other industries.

Woodpulp is the most important single item produced by the Swedish forest-product industries. About 53% of the timber cut annually goes into woodpile production. Chemical pulp accounts for three-fourths of the total output, with mechanical pulp constituting the remainder. Both sulfite and sulfate chemical pulp are produced. Sulfite pulp can be bleached to a high degree of whiteness and is therefore desirable as a fill for mixing with long-fibered pulp in the manufacture of high-quality book and writing papers. The processing of sulfate pulp normally produces a greater yield than any other chemical method and results in a pulp with long and flexible fibers, suitable for use in strong wrapping paper, as well as in various kinds of paperboard.

The woodpile industry experienced peak production levels between 1965 and 1970, during which time production rose 20%. In 1970 output increased by 7%, reaching an all-time high, and exports (12% of production) slightly surpassed their 1969 level, despite reduced European demand. The following tabulation shows woodpile production and exports in 1970, in thousands of metric tons:

Decelerating growth in foreign demand and declining domestic demand during late 1970 and the first half of 1971 resulted in a decrease in the inflow of orders for both pulp and paper. Consequently, leading pulp producers closed their mills for up to 4 weeks during the 1971 summer vacation period to prevent accumulation of excessive pulp inventories.

Sweden is the seventh-largest producer of pulp and paper in the world and the third-largest in Western Europe, behind West Germany and the United Kingdom. With production exceeding 15% of the world total and 30% of the European total, Sweden ranks second to the United States in the output of fiberboard. The following tabulation shows Sweden's production and export of some of the more important types of paper, paperboard, and fiberboard in 1970, in thousands of metric tons:

More than two-thirds of the total paper, paperboard, and fiberboard output is exported. Exports have been increasing rapidly, and in 1970 they almost reached the total tonnage produced in 1965.

The forest-products industry also produces railroad crossties, pitprops, and matchsticks as well as derivative products such as turpentine and tall oil. Crosstie output is adequate to meet the replacement demand of the Swedish railroads and provide for some exports. Tall oil, a byproduct of chemical woodpile, is an important ingredient for the organic chemical industry, mainly for the production of soaps and grease.

Sweden's export prospects were enhanced in 1971 by the purchase of 53% of the capital stock of West Germany's Hannoversche Papierfabriken AG, a leading European manufacturer of bag and sack paper and fine paper, by Norrlands Skogsagares Cellulosa AB, a large Swedish pulp and paper producer. This acquisition insures a market for the Swedish firm's pulp (for processing into paper in the West German subsidiary) and paper (for conversion into bags and sacks), and it effectively ties the Swedish industry more closely to the important markets of the European Economic Community.

c. Fisheries

Sweden's annual fish catch (277,400 metric tons in 1970) is the smallest among the major fishing countries of northern Europe and has been declining since the mid-1960's. Between 1965 and 1970, the catch

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090018-7