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84 May 2015

M A R K E T A N A L Y S I S

Prices fuelled by renewed
Chinese buying
OCC export prices to Asia have improved
significantly in recent weeks as China has
become a more aggressive competitor to
buyers in India and Indonesia. In the USA,
there has been a slight uptick in
corrugated prices, especially on the
domestic front. Mexican buyers have
increased their purchases of OCC from
the USA, it is also reported.

Closed: April 23 2015

Europe
Higher prices
In April, most European mills have put up
their prices for the lower grades of recov-
ered paper in response to good demand.
As for the Far East, OCC prices have
increased in Euro terms because of the
strong US dollar and also because of
decent order levels. In effect, demand is
good for Europe and most Far East des-
tinations although incoming volumes are
reasonable at best and could be better;

there is still not much OCC available
and stocks are not very high in Europe.

Shipping freight rates have been gener-
ally stable but are widely expected to
head higher under the influence of
‘blank sailings’. According to feedback,
shipping space is not universally easy
to secure.
For the deinking grades, incoming vol-

umes of house-
hold mixed

have been healthy. Demand is very good
in Europe while orders have also been
received for Asia, albeit at slightly lower
prices. Some smaller volumes have also
been destined for India, for where ship-
ping rates have been stable but are also
tending to increase. In general, recent
mill closures and reorganisations within
the newsprint sector have yet to make
a substantial impact on the continent. 
For the middle grades of recovered
paper, volumes have been slow to
arrive at merchant processors’ facilities.
Demand within Europe remains very
good for most of these grades and
prices have recorded signifi cant gains
in some instances. Orders for these
grades from India and other Asian des-
tinations have improved in recent
weeks, although price levels are slight-
ly lower than those prevailing in
Europe. Strong demand continues to
be noted for the offi ce-type grades,
especially in Europe but also from buy-
ers in the Far East. The pace of incom-
ing volumes is slow.
The market fundamentals for the high
grades of recovered paper remain
largely unaltered: demand is good for
the limited volumes of material coming
forward. Prices are tending to rise at
present.

North America
‘Incremental’ movement
Buyers and sellers are seeing a slight
upward push in corrugated, especially
among domestic buyers, although the
movement is described as ‘incremen-
tal’. With start-up nearing for the Inter-
national Paper corrugated mill at Val-
liant in Oklahoma, buyers are pulling

loads from the US Midwest and South-
west to stock the mill’s required inven-
tory.
Mexican buyers have also increased
their purchases of OCC, with railcars of
the material journeying from Texas and
the Midwest. Mixed paper, meanwhile,
has not shown much pressure and has
been challenged by a lack of transport

European Paper Recycling Awards:
call for entries
The European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) has launched a call for
candidates for the 2015 European Paper Recycling Awards, created to
recognise projects, initiatives and campaigns that support paper recycling.
Entries must be submitted before midday Brussels time on June 26 and
winners will be announced at a ceremony to take place at the European
Parliament on October 14.
Now in their fi fth year, the awards fall into two categories – information/
education and technology improvement/research & development – and are
open to all Europe-based organisations, including companies, associations,
schools, universities and NGOs, as well as national and regional authorities.
Entries will be evaluated according to: relevance and originality, achieve-
ments, reproducibility and cost-effectiveness. The initiatives must be ongo-
ing or completed, but cannot have started before January 2013.
‘Recognising innovative paper recycling initiatives in Europe helps inspire
others to copy good practices,’ comments Henri Vermeulen of Smurfi t Kappa,
who succeeded Beatrice Klose as ERPC chairman at the start of the year. ‘I
would really encourage all players involved in paper recycling to present
their ideas and innovations and have a chance to present them in the
European Parliament.’ www.paperforrecycling.eu/recycling-awards

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