Economic importance of pine (Pinus spp.) as a natural resource in Mexico

Abstract

The economic value importance of pine (Pinus spp.) as a natural resource in Mexico is that it is present in 75 % of its surface. This study aims at quantifying the monetary value that pine contributes to the forest economy, based on the statistical data provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment; a horizon of 15 years 2002-2016 was selected with the idea of learning about the behavior and evolution of the value of this conifer, as roundwood and as square timber. The methodological process was to update the current values through deflation and display them at constant values, for which 2013 was selected as the base year. The data were thus made comparable in order to identify their trends, as well as to quantify their variation through the statistical function annual average growth rate. In real terms, there is a reduction of the importance of the value of pine, which has a strong influence on market prices. These fail to grow enough to stop the fall in the value of production, a situation that is more prevalent in roundwood than in square timber.