Australia’s recovered paper exports – as is the case for more than half the world – make their way to South East Asia. Most are manufactured into recycled corrugated boxes. Source: IndustryEdge
Examining the export data by grade and by country, demonstrates there is a little more to recycling than the ever-important corrugated box.
However, first we need to start with the two grades that are definitely used to manufacture corrugated boxes: Old Corrugated Cartons (OCC) and Mixed/Unsorted recovered paper.
The year-ended November saw exports up 6.1% on the prior year, with shipments to Indonesia now stable at around 25,000 tonnes per month. The big mover of the year was Malaysia, which has demonstrated a capacity to pay higher prices for better quality material than Thailand and India. As China exited the market for recycled materials, its satellite of regional manufacturers stepped up their procurement to manufacture recycled grades for shipment into China.
OCC RCP Exports by Country: YE Nov ’20 – YE Nov ’22 (tpa)
Mainly from kerbside sources but including products unable to be classified into the other recovered paper grades, the mixed or unsorted grade saw exports decline 8.2% year-ended November 2022. Some in the industry claim this is due to the sale of some semi-sorted kerbside material as a lower grade OCC. If that is the case, as optical and other sorting technologies improve, this may be a trend to watch. As with OCC, the Mixed/Unsorted supply is mainly going to Indonesia and its volumes were stable over the year, pushing towards 27,000 tonnes per month. All other countries are bit players, by comparison.
Mixed/Unsorted RCP Exports by Country: YE Nov ’20 – YE Nov ’22 (tpa)
While the two other export designations for recovered paper are very small by volume and are dwarfed by the main grades, they are not irrelevant, because of what they tell us about fibre markets and products, if for no other reason.
Over the last three years, exports of recovered white office paper have not exceeded 2,000 tonnes for a full year. Many months there are no exports. When there are however, the price can be as high as 90% of the average bleached eucalypt kraft pulp price. The highest grades of white office paper are used to manufacture recycled office papers, but also recycled liners for various forms of high-end packaging and for tissue production. Demand is greater than the dwindling supply.
Office White RCP Exports by Country: YE Nov ’20 – YE Nov ’22 (tpa)
Just a decade ago, Old Newsprint exports were routinely in the 400,000 tonne per annum range, widely sort after – including domestically – as a source of long fibre for manufacturing corrugated boxes, as well as for recycled newsprint. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Total exports were stable over the year-ended November 2022 and only Malaysia receives any volume of note. It received over 83% of total shipments in the most recent year. Underscoring the value of this grade, weighted average prices routinely top AUDFob500/t.
Office White RCP Exports by Country: YE Nov ’20 – YE Nov ’22 (tpa)
For more information visit: www.industryedge.com.au
