China to lead in exporting boxboard by 2014

Despite fairly slow growth in domestic demand, China has maintained an aggressive capacity expansion plan which will result in a significant market imbalance over the next two to three years. Given the precarious state of the global economy and relatively weak domestic demand Chinese producers will be eager to export excess tonnage. These findings were published recently in the 2012 World Boxboard Study by RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry.

“During the last decade, demand for boxboard declined in the mature markets of North America, Western Europe, Japan, and Oceania. Producers in those markets began exporting to developing markets that were experiencing significant growth rates of approximately seven percent per year from 2001 to 2010. By 2011, Asia represented 42 percent of the total world boxboard demand,” said Ken Wagerhorne vice president of packaging at RISI. “China has responded aggressively to this demand. We estimate that by 2013 close to 8.8 million tonnes of additional boxboard capacity will come online there. As Asia quickly takes the lead in global exports, producers in Europe and North America will face increasing competitive pressure,” added Wagerhorne.