After a weak fourth quarter, label paper producers on the German market report a good start to the new year as regards demand. Prices also edged up, but not as much as producers had hoped.
Demand for label paper in Germany deteriorated perceptibly in the fourth quarter, as usual for this time of the year. "Call-offs were weak in the last three months of the year, even a little slacker than expected in comparison with the same period of the previous year," a supplier told EUWID.
The new year got off to a "respectable" start in terms of demand, according to industry observers. Although January is known to be not the strongest month, converters' stocks have meanwhile been run down quite heavily and now need to be replenished, they added.
Label paper producers have been less successful as regards price increases in the new year. The increase that some suppliers were trying to implement as from 1 January was only partially pushed through on the market.
