Increasing Demand

A measurement of 50,000 acres of Nile Fiber™ produces as much usable biomass as 1,250,000 acres of trees. The current and best-performing agricultural source of any biomass can only produce usable biomass at less than 40% the rate of Nile Fiber™. CHARTS

Use of paper is generally considered essential for modern living. The pulp, paper, paperboard, and packaging industries represent well over $700 billion of annual sales globally, including over $182 billion in North America. Within the next decade, worldwide demand for pulp and paper products is expected to exceed the supply of available wood fiber, and this shortfall will worsen as demand escalates. Currently, 90% of pulp is produced from indigenous forest resources that are being rapidly depleted throughout the world. Only 10% is derived from farms.

Half of the earth’s original forest cover is gone, and an additional 30% is degraded or fragmented. Only 20% of the original forest on earth remains today as large relatively undisturbed "frontier forests." Half of the frontier forests are threatened by human activity, mostly by logging. Another 100,000 square miles of forest are lost each year to burning and clear-cutting, mostly in the tropics, and only a very small amount of this forest loss is offset by re-growth.

Since 1960, about 30% of the earth’s tropical forests have disappeared, and with them, thousands of species have become extinct. Between 50% and 90% of the terrestrial species inhabit and depend upon forests, and more than half of the threatened vertebrate species on earth are forest animals. The link is clear: lose forests — lose species.

The critical question from industry experts, government leaders and environmentalists is how to meet the future demand for paper and paper products in a financially viable, environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable manner.

The Nile Group, Inc. believes there is a simple answer to this crucial question. The answer lies in a seemingly innocuous member of the grass family, Nile Fiber™.

Nile Fiber™ is a perennial member of the grass family and has an appearance somewhat like corn or sugar cane.

Nile Fiber™ reaches maturity in one year, can be harvested annually, and produces usable biomass at a rate more than 25 times that of timber. Over 20,000 plants can be grown in a standard acre of land. This results in carbon dioxide reduction (carbon sequestration) rates 25 times greater than forest for the same land area.

Nile Fiber™ is extremely hardy, has no natural enemies, grows in poor soils without fertilizer with very little rainfall. The plant flourishes in warm climates and is a very efficient converter of the sun's radiation into biomass.

Once planted, Nile Fiber™ grows prolifically and spreads its roots and produces a large number of new shoots. It requires about twenty-five (25) inches of water per year to survive, tolerates brackish water, and uses a minimal amount of nutrients from the soil.

Mature stalks grow to an average height of twenty feet and an average diameter of one inch. At the end of the growing season, plants are harvested in the same manner as sugar cane. After being cut, Nile Fiber™ plants will continue to grow new plants each year from its rhizomes and does not have to be replanted. Nile Fiber™ cane stalks can be processed and chipped at the harvest site - saving the additional costs to haul and process the crop at a separate facility. The stalks and leaves have a naturally-occurring coat of wax that repel moisture and protect the plant from deteriorating during storage.