Venezuela seizes Smurfit Kappa’s eucalyptus forest

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said the seizure was necessary as the land was being used for growing eucalyptus for cardboard rather than for food.

The move follows last week’s nationalisation of a rice mill owned by US food company Cargill.

A Smurfit Kappa spokesman said the forestry land had a value of around EUR500,000.

He added that the Dublin-based packaging group owns 30,000 hectares in Venezuela, which is around 15% of its landholding in Latin America.

Latin America accounts for 15% of Smurfit Kappa’s revenues.

Smurfit Kappa Group operates across 22 European countries and nine in Latin America.