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– The Finnish forest industry produced more or less the same volume of paper and board in the first half-year 2011 as it did in the first half of last year while the pulp, coniferous sawnwood, and plywood segments achieved growth in output. This was revealed by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation’s (FFIF) statistics for the first six months of this year.
With an output of 5.8 million t of paper and board, the overall picture in the first half-year remained practically identical to a year earlier but the development differed from one grade of paper to another. The greatest jump forward was made by mechanical printing and writing paper with growth of 6%, though this was unable to compensate for the reduction in output registered in woodfree paper in particular.
Looking at the second quarter 2011 alone, paper production was lower in all segments than it was a year earlier. The second quarter was not as good as the first three months of the year either. Whereas 2.96 million t of paper and board were produced in the first quarter of 2011, the figure fell to only 2.85 million t in the second. Mechanical printing and writing paper stood out positively again, rising from 1.16 million t to 1.17 million t.
FFIF reports slightly higher pulp prices for the period of January to June. Prices for the various grades of paper remained quite stable after the mark-ups at the beginning of the year, the federation said.
Exports registered growth of 7%. According to FFIF, nearly 6 million t of pulp and paper were sold abroad in the first five month of 2011.
FFIF also reemphasised the importance of creating favourable conditions for players in the domestic forest products industry, drawing attention to the planned changes to the EU Directive on sulphur content in ship fuels. FFIF sees the Finnish paper industry‘s competitiveness jeopardised by a possible reduction in the sulphur content. As an export-oriented country, Finland would be particularly hard-hit by the higher transport costs that would arise from a change in the directive.
31.08.2011
Markets
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- Sharp increase in worldwide pulp stocks in July
- World market pulp statistics
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- Will India’s pulp market follow in China’s footsteps?
- Russian pulp and paper industry still hoping for strong investors
- Spain’s new waste legislation gives rise to debates in the recovered paper industry
- Expansion plans in the pulp sector will lead to substantial growth in hardwood pulp capacities
- Stagnation in Finnish paper production in first half-year
- Baypapier: energy policy is threat to paper industry
- More capacity increases reported again in Europe
Companies
- Ahlstrom considering job cuts at Karhula and Mikkeli mills
- Segezha Packaging mill in Saransk standing still after fire
- Italy’s paper industry calls for change
- Mayr-Melnhof establishes third packaging site in Turkey
- Kipas Holding to enter recycled containerboard market
- Hunsfos Fabrikker in financial dire straits
- Bong to cease envelope production in Belgium
- Tullis Russell to axe 43 jobs in Markinch
- ICT commissions a new tissue machine in France
- New Page to indefinitely close Port Hawkesbury mill
- Abitibi Bowater invests and cuts jobs at Iroquois Falls mill