Recovered paper in Italy has become slightly more expensive again in April. Merchants were able to charge a little more for certain grades on the domestic market while export prices pointed downwards.
Scant supply of recovered paper in Italy paved the way for another round of minor price increases in April. Both ordinary and medium grades became slightly more expensive.
Some market players explained that a minor recovery in demand for mixed paper and OCC had been palpable in Italy in April. However, they cited chronically low recovered paper collection volumes in Italy as the primary factor fuelling the price increase. The same is true for the medium recovered paper grades. Merchants explained that supply was limited as fewer and fewer newspapers and magazines were being printed. In addition, these grades sometimes ended up being exported to the Far East, they said.
The Chinese Government's "Operation Green Fence" has reportedly led to very stringent quality checks at Chinese ports. Demand from China is limited at present as a result, although recovered paper was still being shipped, one exporter noted. Prices for Far East exports held steady at the start of the month, but then typically dropped a little after the first week in April.
