UK recovered paper exports mount a recovery

United Kingdom – Having dropped sharply during both January and February of this year, the UK’€™s overseas shipments of recovered paper recorded improvements in the ensuing three months, according to latest figures from the Confederation of Paper Industries and HM Revenue & Customs.

However, the total volume dispatched by Europe’s largest recovered fibre exporter across the first five months of this year was 6.6% lower than in the corresponding period of 2016 at 2.021 million tonnes.

UK collections of recovered paper followed a similar pattern, with year-on-year gains in March, April and May going some way towards offsetting steep losses in the opening two months of the year. Taking the first five months of 2017 as a whole, volumes were 4.2% down on last year at 3.261 million tonnes.

Usage of recovered fibre by UK mills gathered pace such that May saw the largest year-on-year gain to date in 2017 of 6.8%.

Domestic consumption was 1% higher across the opening five months of the year at 1.292 million tonnes while UK paper and board production climbed 4.7% to 1.595 million tonnes.