UK recovered paper exports still near record levels

United Kingdom – UK exports of recovered paper could yet break all records in 2015. Latest figures from the Confederation of Paper Industries and HM Revenue & Customs confirm that Europe’s leading fibre exporter shipped out 4.02 million tonnes in the opening 10 months of this year for an increase of almost 7.6% over the 3.73 million tonnes in January-October 2014.

The latest 10-month running total has been exceeded only once in the past – in 2008 when UK exporters went on to set an all-time high of 4.846 million tonnes which has never been matched since.

Compared to 2014, overseas shipments increased by 4.1% to 1.66 million tonnes for mixed & mechanical, 7.9% to 2.21 million tonnes for corrugated & kraft and a massive 61.7% to 149 669 tonnes for the high grades.

While UK recovered paper exports have been surging ahead, domestic paper and board production has been heading in the opposite direction: the January-October total of 3.33 million tonnes represented a decline of 9.6% over the 3.68 million tonnes of the same period last year.

UK mills’ consumption of recovered fibre was 10% lower year on year at 2.8 million tonnes.