Eco Crops International first European forestry investment is open to private and institutional investors. The investment itself is based just outside the Estonian capital of Tallinn and is run in conjunction with the EU Renewable Energy Directive which is a recent law change within the European Union stating that the EU must fulfil a minimum of 20% of its total energy needs with renewables by the year 2020. Source: Timberbiz
One of the major ways that countries are going to meet these targets is by replacing coal with sustainable Biomass Wood Pellets which are an eco-friendly alternative to the aforementioned fossil fuel.
Eco Crops International latest project is offering investors the opportunity to invest in pre-existing forestry plantations with the aim of, after a 3-5 year period, harvesting and then converting the investor’s trees into biomass wood pellets to be sold within the European market.
The reason they are doing this is because they have identified a substantial gap in the market due to the current production of wood pellets, with most of this occurring in North and South America.
This translates to currently 60% of all wood pellets used within Europe being imported from outside of the EU. This means that these wood pellets will be subject to large shipping costs, export and import taxes along with the added cost of heat treatment due to importing of timber based products before entering the EU.
As Eco Crops International plantations are strategically based within the EU their investors will benefit from being exempt from any of these added taxes and costs maximizing the return for their investors.
Eco Crops International investments start from €8200 euros for private investors allowing all types of investors to profit from going green. This €8,200 euro investment would purchase one acre of established forestry.
Unlike many forestry investments however, the investor would also own the land which the trees are on through a 99-year lease giving clients the added security and also revenue stream at the end of the investment.
After a 3-5 year period once the trees are harvested and turned to wood pellets and sold the revenue would be returned to the clients (minus a fee) and then the investors would have the option of selling the land or holding onto the land.
