Industry Report | China’s Raw Paper Production and Sales Reach New Highs in 2021

According to statistics, China’s raw paper production and sales reach new highs in 2021. At the same time, China's imports of raw paper have grown rapidly, while the exports have plummeted. This article provides an in-depth insight of China’s raw paper market covering important parameters including production & sales and import & export.

As an important part of the basic materials sector, paper industry plays a key role in national economy. Paper products are widely used in industries including culture industry, food industry, education, science & technology and so on.

With the introduction of advanced technologies and equipment, relying on independent innovation, some outstanding Chinese paper enterprises have upgraded themselves to be competitive in the world market. At the same time, China has become the largest producer and consumer of paper products in the world. 

Major listed companies in China’s raw paper industry: Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Ltd. (SZ000488), Shanying International Holdings Co., Ltd. (SH600567), Shandong Sun Paper Co., Ltd. (SZ002078), Zhejiang Jingxing Paper Joint Stock Co., Ltd.  (SZ002067), Yueyang Forest & Paper Co., Ltd. (SH600963), Fujian Qingshan Paper Industry Co., Ltd. (SH600103).

China’s Raw Paper Production and Sales Reach New Highs in 2021

According to different purposes, the paper products in the Chinese market can be divided into two broad categories: paper and cardboard. Paper products include newsprint, packaging paper, uncoated printing-writing paper, coated printing paper, household paper and raw paper, etc. Cardboard products include card board and white board. Card board and raw paper are major products in China’s paper market in terms of supply and demand.

From the perspective of industry scale, since 2014 China’s raw paper production has experienced fluctuations. In 2020, China's output of raw paper reached a record high of 23.9 million tons, with an increase of 7.67% year on year. And raw paper accounted for 21.2% of the total output of all paper and cardboard products.

From the perspective of sales volume, the demand in the Chinese raw paper market is positively correlated with the supply. Since 2014, the sales volume has also experienced fluctuations. In 2020, the sales reached a record high of 27.76 million tons, with an increase of 16.93% year on year. And raw paper accounted for 23.5% of the total sales of all paper and cardboard products.

China’s Imports and Exports of Raw Paper Show Opposite Trends

Since 2017, due to the rising costs and the reduced import tariffs, China’s imports of raw paper have grown rapidly, while exports have plummeted.

From 2014 to 2016, China's raw paper imports remained below 100,000 tons. Since 2017, the imports have grown rapidly. In 2020, the imports increased to a record high of 3.89 million tons.

On the other hand, China’s exports of raw paper have remained at a relatively low level compared to the imports. since 2017, the exports have further declined to less than 50,000 tons. In 2020, the export volume was only about 30,000 tons.