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Charcoal ProductionThe charcoal industry in Kwa Zulu-Natal is mainly located
in the general area of Dalton, Ahrens and Greytown in the
Midlands, approximately 160 kms from the port of Durban,
as well as in Northern KZN forestry areas between
Paulpietersburg and the Mpumalanga border.
Charcoal Factory
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The total volume of charcoal produced in Kwa Zulu-Natal is
highly dependent on the prevailing price of pulp wood for
export and, with increases in the export price in 2006,
there has been a reduction of charcoal production in some
areas. This has caused the closure of numbers of smaller
producers.
In spite of current conditions, the industry is
continually expanding capacity with
new developments that will increase the annual tonnage
from approximately
100,000 tons to 200,000 tons over the next 5 years. This
will increase exports output from 12,500 to 25,000
containers per year.
The older charcoal plants were limited in their ability to
process smaller timber, and therefore produced briquettes
from the fines obtained from grading the larger
chunks. The more modern plants are able to use all sizes
of timber and to produce far more efficiently. The products are distributed to national destinations such
as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East
London. Export markets are mainly Germany, Belgium
and Italy. Peak periods are July, November and December for
the local market, and January to June for the export market.
In all areas charcoal is now transported only by road,
either in export containers to the port of Durban or to
inland destinations in a range of articulated box or
curtain-sided trailer configurations.
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