Understanding of Paper Price Fluctuations in Packaging Printing

Understanding the fluctuation of paper prices in packaging printing and its impact on the packaging industry.

Low cost, easy scale production, green environmental protection, and easy recycling are many advantages of paper packaging, so the application fields of paper packaging will be increasingly wide. Wang Yuezhong believes that the rapid development of paper packaging customer markets such as e-commerce and express delivery, as well as the emergence of new products such as intelligent packaging, have brought new opportunities and challenges to the development of the paper packaging industry. Qian Yi believes that paper packaging is gradually becoming the first choice for consumers due to its environmentally friendly and recyclable characteristics.

The shortage of raw materials is the main reason for the fluctuation of paper prices

The fluctuation of paper prices brings great difficulties to packaging enterprises

Although we deal with paper every day, the vast majority of people are unaware that the main raw material for papermaking is waste paper. Due to the severe shortage of forest raw materials in China and the low recycling rate of domestic waste paper, the raw materials of waste paper to a certain extent rely more on the import of foreign waste paper. In recent years, with the country's restrictions on the import of solid waste, the source of raw materials for China's paper industry has been affected to a certain extent.

Since 2021, due to the combined influence of various factors, paper prices have experienced an upward trend. Some even say that investing in real estate and stocks is better than investing in paper. "The change in price is the result of multiple factors working together. On the one hand, it is the sustained market demand, and on the other hand, the decrease in the amount of imported waste paper has led to a shortage of domestic papermaking raw materials, resulting in a surge in domestic waste paper prices. The production costs of papermaking enterprises have sharply increased, leading to an increase in finished paper prices. Even temporary and localized supply shortages have emerged."

"Waste paper and paperboard are the main raw materials supporting China's paper industry, accounting for more than 65% of the raw materials for paper making. Strictly speaking, high-quality waste paper and paperboard cannot be called 'waste', 'garbage' or 'solid waste', but should be called 'recycled fiber'. They are internationally recognized as the most environmentally friendly and inexpensive indispensable raw materials for paper making. High quality imported waste paper and paperboard (impurity content below 0.5%) cannot be included in the scope of foreign garbage." Chen Kefu, professor of South China University of Technology and academician of the CAE Member, said.

Zhang Yin suggested that the country should retain about 40% of the imported waste paper, so as to achieve a basic balance in the supply of raw materials in the industry and maintain its healthy development. Chen Kefu stated that the paper industry needs to strengthen the recycling and utilization of waste paper, accelerate research on alternatives to waste paper, and provide more support in the diversity of papermaking raw materials.