03 Dec, 2020

GPMA editor team

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the global economy and trade have declined, and the external environment has become more complex and severe. With China's initial achievements in pandemic prevention and control, Chinese economic has gradually recovered, thus the overall operation of the paper industry has been better than that of last year, with production and sales basically balanced.

According the speech, Analysis of The Production and Sales of Chinese Paper Industry in 2020 and Future Outlook, given by Zhao Wei, President of China Paper Association, in the first nine months of this year, the paper output was 91.02 million tons, down 2% year on year; raw pulp output reached 10.65 million tons, up 10% year on year; paper products output totaled 48.22 million tons, down 7.5% year on year. The industry's prime operating revenue reached 9,107 trillion yuan (USD 1,384 trn), down 8.1% year-on-year; the profit was 48.1 billion yuan (USD 7.31 bn), up 10.1% year on year.

It is predicted that the annual output of paper and paperboard will be about 110 million tons in 2020, with a year-on-year growth of about 2.2%, and apparent consumption will be about 114 million tons, up about 6.5% year on year.

Since October this year, the industry's major paper mills monthly issued price increase letter, and paper industry ushered in the peak season of price increase. At present, some paper factories in east China and central China have low inventory, and the orders need be scheduled for productions in 2-3 days. Yang Delong, chief economist of Qianhai Open Source Fund, said, "With the economic recovery and rising market demand, the paper industry has recently witnessed a wave of price rises. Major paper mills have raised prices one after another, which has accelerated the fundamental recovery of the paper industry and the prosperity of the industry has also picked up." According to the data from Qichacha, the registration of paper-making related enterprises shows an overall growth trend.

From 2010 to 2016, the registrations of paper-making related enterprises in China rose in a fluctuating way. In 2017, the registrations reached 4,666, with a year-on-year growth of 69%, which was the highest growth rate in nearly 10 years. Registrations plunged to 2,996 in 2018, down 36% from a year earlier.

On April 13, 2018, the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, and the General Administration of Customs made adjustments to the current Catalog of Banned Solid Wastes Imports, moving total 16 kinds of solid waste, including stainless steel scarp, titanium scarp, and wood scarp from the category of restricted and non-restricted imports into the Catalog of Banned Solid Wastes Imports, effective from December 31, 2019.

As a result of the "prohibition on waste", the demand gap of raw materials continues to expand. In 2019, many enterprises set out in the paper-making industry, with 3,379 paper-making related enterprises registered, up 13% year-on-year. In the first three quarters of this year, there were 3,455 paper-making related enterprises newly established in China, up 39.8% year on year.

Source: Qichacha, ASKCI Consulting Co., Ltd

According to statistics from Qichacha, Shandong province has the largest number of paper-making enterprises in China, with 6,298 enterprises accounting for 18.7% of the total, far more than any other region in China. Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Jiangxi province ranked second to fifth with 3,740, 2,414, 2,072 and 1,859, respectively.

Source: Qichacha, ASKCI Consulting Co., Ltd