The amount of recovered paper imported from the Netherlands, Poland and France fell strongly, while recovereed paper exports remained almost unchanged.
Germany recorded a significant fall in its recovered paper imports in the first three months of this year. Demand for recovered paper from German mills had slowed markedly, as previously covered by EUWID in its monthly market reports, with demand for also imports proving weak as a result. Recent figures from the German Federal Statistical Office now underscore this trend. The official statistics show that at 899,000 t between January and March 2023, Germany’s recovered paper imports were down around 35 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2022. The country exported marginally more recovered paper in the same period. However, the sharp growth in exports to the Far East is striking.
The amount of recovered paper imported from the Netherlands, Poland and France fell especially strongly. Even though shipments were almost cut in half in a year-on-year comparison, these three countries remained the leading trading partners for German imports.
The Federal Statistical Office put the total valueof recovered paper imported into Germany at €138m in the first quarter, compared with €305m one year earlier. The average price of one tonne of recovered paper imported into Germany tumbled from €219/t in the first three months of 2022 to just €153/t between January and March 2023.
These figures mirror the sharp downturn in prices documented by EUWID surveys, especially in the second half of the year. That being said, the trajectory in prices for bulk grades of recovered paper has pointed upward again of late. On the export front, the total amount of recovered paper shipped abroad in the first three months of the year did not alter much at all. Official data shows that Germany exported 396,000 t of recovered paper valued at €50m, which was just 1 percent more in tonnage terms than in the same quarter last year (392,000 t valued at €80m).
Recovered paper exports to Vietnam,India and Thailand have soared
In terms of the destinations, the statistics show a considerable slump in exports to Germany’s European neighbours. The country’s shipments to France, Austria and Belgium fell by a quarter, while exports to Switzerland were even cut in half.
Conversely, Germany experienced a dramatic rise in shipments to South-East Asia. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the country exported around 69,000 t of recovered paper to Vietnam, India and Thailand between January and March. By comparison, these deliveries totalled just 300 t in the same period last year. In interviews with EUWID, market players attributed this trend to attractive prices in the Far East and favourable conditions for sea cargo.
