The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has made a huge impact on the global industrial supply chains. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 is posing severe challenges to the pulp and paper industry worldwide. On the other hand, this pandemic may provide unprecedented possibilities for the pulp and paper manufacturers in areas such as the increasing demand for personal hygiene paper products, food packaging products, corrugated packaging materials, medical specialty papers, etc.
The Global Pulp and Paper industry has contracted slightly over the past five years, mainly due to the transition to digital media and paperless communication across most developed countries .The manufacturing booms in several emerging markets have partially compensated the decline by driving increased demand for paper used in packaging materials. The industry is now shifting its focus toward packaging materials and sanitary products, the two most promising segments for growth.
Pulp and Paper industry is facing several challenges: The demand for domestic wood supplies by end-users such as bioenergy companies is increasing. Increasing the mobilisation of wood in a sustainable manner and developing new technologies for further optimising the added value from raw materials through the cascading use of wood (cascading contributes to more resource efficiency and consequently reduce pressure on the environment) would help to match wood supply and demand. Due to digitalisation, the consumption of graphic paper is reducing. But, this is counter-balanced by growth in packaging and hygiene papers. The manufacture of bio-based products is creating huge opportunities for the sector.
The industry is increasing its share of exports outside but tariff barriers and protectionist subsidies for competitive products create an uneven playing field. Export duties and taxes on wood exports are raising concerns. For instance, fibrous raw material represents the highest share of production costs, and so its availability at affordable prices is very important for the sector. In Europe, the paper recycling rate is very close to its maximum. Improvements in collection systems and new sorting and recycling technology can further increase the quality and availability of secondary raw materials. The supply may also be challenged by the increasing amount of recovered paper exports to non-European countries.
We present to you, “Top 10 Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Solutions Providers - 2022.”
