Global prices for cardboard and other packaging, as well as raw materials, which are used in their production, are growing worldwide due to abnormal demand associated with the pandemic, as well as a number of production restrictions, according to recent statements, made by some largest producers and analysts in the field of paper business.
According to analysts, global prices for pulp for three months of the current year increased by 30%, while waste paper has risen in price by 1,5 times.
According to analysts, restriction of supply on the global market is associated with planned shutdowns of production for repairs, as well as force majeures. At the same time, the demand is supported by the effect of "panic purchases", as well as a ban on imports of waste paper in China from January 2021. Also, the price is affected by the global shortage of containers and the growth of freight rates.
All these factors, according to analysts, led to extremely difficult situation in paper sectors of the majority of countries throughout the world, including Russia, where since the beginning of Q4 of 2020, prices for cellulose board have increased by 11%, while for recycled grades - by 28% or more.
The ruble depreciation had an additional impact on the domestic market. As Mikhail Mileshin, vice president for marketing and innovation of Segezha Group, one of Russia’s leading timber holdings told in an interview with Kommersant business paper, global trends in one way or another have an impact on the growth in demand and prices for sack paper, paper packaging as well as grease-resistant paper.
By: Eugen Gerden