Woodless paper interest grows

Alberta's pulping sector is kick-starting a new trend that could see local farmers plant crops for paper production instead of food.

Interest in using crops such as flax and hemp as alternatives to wood in papermaking is high as rising global demand for paper clashes with limited forestry resources, said Wade Chute, manager of the pulp and paper division of the Alberta Research Council Inc.

"If I look at the total market pulp capacity of the people who have contacted me about this, I've got three of the top 10 players in the world," Chute said.