Germany exported and imported significantly less recovered paper in 2023. According to figures from the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), exports declined by 5 per cent year on year to 1.55 million tonnes, marking the lowest level since data collection began in 2006. Imports of recovered paper slumped by 20 per cent versus 2022 to reach 4.24 million tonnes. Import volumes were last this low in 2015. The total foreign trade volume of recovered paper last year (exports plus imports) amounted to 5.8 million tonnes, the smallest number ever reported.
The pattern reflected what market sources reported to EUWID throughout last year and was consistent with the broader pattern seen in Europe as a whole last year.
In terms of volumes, the steepest drop was seen in deliveries to the Netherlands, which fell by 97,000 tonnes or 16 per cent compared with the prior-year level. But the Netherlands, representing an export volume of 491,000 tonnes, remains the main destination country for Germany’s exports of "recovered paper or paperboard." However, it should be noted that large volumes of material are typically sold to Dutch brokers, who then export the German recovered paper to other countries. Destatis does not track the amount of exported material that it sold on.
The full report on trends in German foreign trade in recovered paper, including graphs, can be found here . . ....
