Market News

Paper Packaging Market in The First 6 Months of 2021

According to the statistics from the Vietnam Packaging Association: “In the first 6 months of 2021, the price of domestic materials such as bales has increased by 40-50%, and imported paper has also increased by 20-40%.” Supply chain crisis lead to the massive increasing in the price of RCP, OCC recycled paper in Asia. The availability of products became scarcen, in stark contrast to previous predictions – that RCP paper supply in Asia will increase following China’s import ban in the early 2021.

The cause of the supply shortage may related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected China’s obtainment and demand for recycled pulp. However, simultaneously, the manufacturers in Europe, the US and Japan accelerated in purchasing and storing materials which lead to the scarcity of export products. In addition, the price rising by sea freight and the difficulty in booking containers to load RCP have also resulted in higher commodity prices.

 

Average Price of Imported Recycled Paper in Southeast Asia

Average imported recycled paper price in Southeast Asia (USD/ton, CIF to major ports) statistics by Vietnam Pulp and Paper Association

 

In mid-June 2021, the price of recycled paper fluctuates by 18-25 USD/ton compared to May 2021, unfortunately, the price increasing hasn’t stopped. In July 2021, the price continues increasing by 5 – 10 USD/ton. On July 15th, 2021 had set a new peak with 285-300 USD/ton.

The statistics above showed that supply is tightening meanwhile demand is raising, freight rates are high and lack of available containers due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is a global issue at the moment.