Prices for ordinary grades are rising considerably on the German recovered paper market. Mark-ups in the low double-digit euro range are expected for mixed paper and supermarket paper and board in March. An even higher increase is expected for sorted graphic paper for deinking.
In the current month, market participants say that recovered paper demand from the paper industry is better. There are barely any downtimes and the machines are running continuously, according to insiders. However, most respondents said it was still unclear whether the increased demand for recovered paper was actually reflected an overall improvement in the mills' order situation, or if paper companies were producing to stock and were accumulating fibre inventories ahead of the Easter holidays.
In most cases, the price increases in March for supermarket paper and board and mixed bales were pegged at €10-15 per tonne. However, there are sometimes even steeper increases for mixed paper as a result of the strong demand for collected volumes owing to the major shortage of sorted graphic paper for deinking. The price rise for grade 1.11 is considerably higher, several players report. One waste management company says this grade is being snapped up, since some paper factories are almost desperate for volumes.
The full overview of the price changes for the individual recovered paper grades on the German market in February can be found here:
Germany's international trade with recovered paper has fallen to a multi-year low in 2023, with both import and export volumes lower than in the year before.
According to figures recently released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Germany's net imports stood at 2.7 million tonnes last year, down from 3.7 million tonnes in 2022.
