Price talks for magazine paper yield first fruits in France

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In May and June, magazine paper producers launched a fresh attempt to charge more for all deliveries as of 1 July. SC paper is thought to have the best chances of costing more in the second half of the year, with a few deals apparently already done and dusted.

Price talks on the publication paper market in France have intensified towards the end of June, resulting in first deals. Magazine paper manufacturers entered talks with the goal of charging up to €40 more for deliveries from 1 July, depending on the customer and previous price.

It already seems clear that producers will not succeed in fully implementing their asking prices. However, transactions featuring higher SC paper prices have apparently already been inked. Manufacturers’ capacity-cutting projects had paved the way for price hikes, insiders said, adding that significant amounts of SC capacity had been removed from the market.

LWC manufacturers feel that additional closures are needed to bring balance back to the market. This state of affairs is also reflected in the outcome to price talks, which resulted in minimal if any price increases. Quite a few market players were sceptical about possible price hikes for LWC deliveries in the third quarter and felt that manufacturers could consider themselves lucky if they managed to keep prices unchanged until the year’s end.

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