The preliminary results of the study that is being carried out in the parish of Isna on the extraction of resin show that the 60 pine trees evaluated in this first year of exploration give more resin than the national average. This is stated by Marco Ribeiro, president of Resipinus – Association of Resin Distillers and Explorers and responsible for Raízes In, a partner entity in this research project.
That official, quoted in a note sent to Oleiros Magazine by the municipality, reveals that the resin extracted in the traditional way in each of the 60 maritime pines “exceeded the value of the national production average, which is about one and a half kilos per spout, in the first year of exploration. At Isna, the bags were removed and the resin weighed, with each pine tree originating values of around two kilos of this material”.
These data offer promising prospects for a possible resin exploration in the municipality of Oleiros. The study is part of a project developed since April by a consortium of 37 entities, led by Forestwise – Collaborative Laboratory for Integrated Forest and Fire Management, with the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), and the company Raízes In as the scientific responsible.
As we mentioned firsthand, this project, which is being implemented on the ground by a forestry engineer and two resin workers from the parish of Isna, also aims to improve resin exploration techniques. Hence, in the second campaign, which will start in March 2024, resin extraction will continue traditionally in the same 60 pine trees, but also using new forms of resin extraction, using, on the one hand, a closed system that aims to increase the quality of the resin obtained and, on the other hand, using new biological stimulants that increase its production.
“We estimate that in a second campaign, production will increase between 30 and 40%. Thus, it is to be expected that the values obtained at Isna will be even more satisfactory next year”, explains Marco Ribeiro, in the same note and referring to traditional extraction.
It should be remembered that the municipality of Oleiros was one of the main producers of resin in the country, even having a factory for the transformation of the product. Miguel Marques, in a note sent to our newspaper, considers that the first data end up “not surprising us. We are fully aware of the potential of this patch of maritime pines and what it can represent, in terms of income, for the owners. We are very pleased with the good data obtained and hope that it will continue to be so. It will be a great challenge and an opportunity for many owners of the forest to generate income again to become sustainable”, he says.
Portugal has even become the world leader in resin production. However, at the end of the 90s, this activity was decreasing. In turn, 50 years ago, the district of Castelo Branco produced a tenth of the total resin entered into distillation plants in Portugal and generated a very significant annual revenue.
Now the country seems to want to bet on a once important sector. Under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), an amount of 33 million euros was announced for the resin sector. According to the government, 17.5 million euros will be applied in an integrated project aimed at promoting natural resin, strengthening the sustainability of the manufacturing industry, and the positive differentiation of natural resin and derived products; while 15.5 million euros will be allocated to forest management initiatives and support for resin in the natural resin sector.
This testing project is part of RN21 – Innovation in the Natural Resin Sector for Strengthening the National Bioeconomy and is co-financed by the Environmental Fund through Component 12 – Promotion of Sustainable Bioeconomy of the European funds allocated to Portugal by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). Along with Oleiros, trials are underway in pine forest plots in Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Nazaré, Cantanhede, and Amareleja.
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