UK maintains strong recovered paper exports

United Kingdom – Despite multiple headlines proclaiming China’s reduced appetite for recovered fibre, Europe’s leading exporter in volume terms – the UK – recorded a significant gain in its total shipments abroad during the first 10 months of 2014. Its deliveries to all overseas destinations amounted to 3.735 million tonnes for a year-on-year increase of 6% over the 3.524 million tonnes of January-October 2013, according to latest figures from the UK’€™s Confederation of Paper Industries and HM Revenue & Customs.

Overseas shipments of mixed paper soared 35.3% to 1.204 million tonnes while exports of corrugated & kraft edged 2.8% higher to 2.046 million tonnes. These increases more than compensated for sharp falls of 22.4% to 391 418 tonnes for newspapers & magazines and of 33.1% to 92 562 tonnes for the high grades.

Over the same 10-month period, UK mill consumption of all grades of recovered paper was 3.5% lower than last year at 3.098 million tonnes whereas collection volumes climbed 2.1% to 6.717 million tonnes.