Santiago, Chile 06 September 2013 -- Empresas CMPC prepares to exit newsprint production. Rio Vergara mill is set to close its doors at the end of November.

Chile's integrated forestry group Empresas CMPC is preparing to exit newsprint production. The group has announced its decision to close its only newsprint mill Papeles Río Vergara in Nacimiento in the country's Bío Bío region for good. CMPC blames its decision on high electricity costs, resulting in higher production costs.

The Río Vergara newsprint mill houses two machines with an installed capacity of 200,000 tpy. In 2012, CMPC had already taken offline one paper machine due to an increase in electricity costs, reducing nominal newsprint capacity at the mill to 135,000 tpy. In 2013, the mill produced a total 60,000 tpy, according to CMPC.