Prices for white-top and brown kraftliner showed a downward trend and semi-chemical fluting prices remained stable in January 2014.
Despite the brisk demand and healthy operating rates, prices for brown kraftliner show a weakening trend in Germany. Market experts are not sure whether this is due to cheap imports from the US. White-top kraftliner prices also yielded in December and January after a long period of stability. The weakness is mainly blamed on greater competition arising from new capacity. Semi-chemical fluting, however, did not follow this trend despite minor reductions reported from neighbouring markets.
